Duo?
by Kuiya
Summary: Heero and his parents move into a haunted house. Guess who the ghost is? Yep, you got it, it's Duo. Please read this! Pairings: 1x2x1, hints of 3x4x3 latermaybe.
1. First Encounters

Just doing some rewriting. 

Disclaimer: Don't own the boys or whatever...

Warnings: Yaoi, 1x2x1 Italics indicate the journal entry.

Duo?  
Chapter 1: First Encounters

_June 3_

_We moved into our new house today, it's 11:30 and I just finished unpacking. I'm not even the least bit tired; today's been weird and it seems impossible to even think about sleeping right now. We found out that the people who lived here before us only lived here for about 2 months, but I don't exactly blame them; this house is... different, to put it mildly. The neighbours say they moved out because of the odd goings-on that've happened around here._

_It's already happened to us, and we just moved in today, late today nonetheless. We got here around 3:30. Something kept moving my things around my new room, like the notebooks on my desk and the books on the shelves keep rearranging themselves into alphabetical order._

Heero looked up from his laptop journal as he heard a shuffling noise coming from the closet, but it stopped just as Heero glanced at it. He then looked at the lamp on the desk as it flickered annoyingly. He sighed and kept typing.

_Just now I heard a shuffling noise coming from my closet and the lamp on my desk is flickering. It's all rather irritating, not in the least bit scary. It makes me wonder if people are just playing tricks on us. Although this house is a little creepy. It's huge and we only have three people in my family, it's not at all comforting. I guess I'll get used to it, my parents really like it here and I don't want to disappoint them. I guess I should try to get some sleep, I _am_ getting a little bit tired._

He saved the new entry and shut down his computer. He sighed and clicked off the light on his desk. He rose and walked toward his bed, only to be stopped by the sudden light filling his room. He slowly turned around and glared at the lamp, as though that would explain the mysterious reason it turned on without him and make it turn off again. When it didn't work he let out an exasperated sigh and strode across the room to turn it off again.

Walking quickly back to his bed, he groped for the corner of the comforter but felt nothing. He squinted into the darkness and as his eyes got used to it he saw the outline of the comforter neatly pulled back for him. He shook his head and lay down. As he pulled the covers up to his chin and rolled onto his side, he heard the door open and softly close. He looked at the closed door and was sure he heard quiet footsteps walking down the hall away from his door.


	2. The Story

Rewriting.

Disclaimer: Don't own GW.

Warnings: yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 2: The Story

Heero awoke the next morning around 7:15. He groaned when he saw that his door was wide open and a few of his things lay scattered on the floor. He rose from his bed rubbing his eyes and running a hand through his messy hair.

As he started to pick things up and put them in their places, his mother appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Heero!" she said cheerily. She glanced around at his room. "It looks-" it was then that she caught sight of the numerous objects strewn carelessly on the floor and changed the sentence. "-like you knocked everything off the shelves." She quirked an eyebrow at Heero's lazy expression.

He shrugged and continued to pick things up. Mrs. Yuy shook her head and left.

She got to the kitchen where her husband sat waiting for her. "I'm a little bit worried about Heero."

"Why is that?" he replied.

She sat down and put a hooked finger over her mouth and looked at the table with a worried expression. "Hmm... Well, I think it's just because of the move, but it was very strange... I don't really understand why, but he seemed to have tossed random things onto the floor..." She turned her eyes to her husband's. "Am I making any sense?"

He nodded. "Well, maybe it's an age thing..." he said thoughtfully. "I mean, he's a 16 year old boy, and he's just moved from the one home he lived in all his life and... I don't know, maybe he's just expressing some emotions he's experiencing right now."

He glanced up hopefully at his wife. She seemed more worried than ever. "Oh, don't worry, darling, he'll be fine." he reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Meanwhile, Heero was picking up the last few books and pencils on the floor. He sighed and stood up straight. He turned around to put the pencils on his desk when the light turned itself on. He slammed his fist on the switch and said through gritted teeth, "Would you stop that!" He then regretted his harshness when he heard his mischievous "visitor's" footsteps rushing from the room and down the hall.

He groaned and decided to get dressed.

xxx

Later, Heero stepped outside to go explore the new neighborhood. "Bye, Heero!" he heard his mother call from inside.

"Hn."

"Hello!" said a voice to his right. He turned and saw a blonde teen about his age walking toward him with a tall, brown haired boy with a unibang trailing along behind him. The blonde one smiled widely as he reached Heero. "Hi, I'm Quatre, I live across the street." He pointed to a white house across the street and to the left of Heero's. Heero blinked.

"Oh, and this is Trowa!" he said cheerfully, grasping the tall one's arm. Trowa nodded to Heero in greeting. Heero nodded back.

"Do you know anything about this house?" Quatre asked Heero with a suddenly serious expression, nodding towards the house behind Heero. Heero shook his head. Trowa and Quatre exchanged looks. "Why don't we show you around and we can talk about it?" he suggested.

Heero shrugged and stepped off the porch, falling into step beside Quatre. Trowa walked on the other side of Quatre, holding his hand. 'Cute couple,' Heero thought.

"Uh, so you don't know why the people before you lived here for such a short time?" Quatre asked Heero uneasily. Heero shook his head. Quatre sighed and continued, "Well, two families before you came, a boy and his parents lived there. His name was Duo Maxwell. He was 16 and had just gotten a new car as a birthday present from his parents. He was known by the kids around here as a friendly, outgoing boy who enjoyed giving them rides in his new car. Late in the evening, Duo would bring them all back here and call goodnight to them all before going inside.

"This routine went on for a while, until one night when everyone waved as Duo went into his home. They never saw him again. His parents found him dead in bed the next morning. They didn't know why he had died, only that he was gone."

Quatre sighed sadly. Heero looked at him curiously and noticed Trowa squeezing Quatre's hand. It was then that he realized how lonely he was...

Quatre sighed again and continued, "After his parents moved out, Duo seemed to stay and haunt the house. The next family - the one just before you - contained a little girl about 11, maybe 12, anyway, she told the kids around here that she was home alone in the kitchen doing homework when she heard someone coming down the staircase. She was so frightened that she hid under the table. She said the footsteps stopped at the last step and she saw that she was still quite alone.

"Some of her friends were reluctant to believe her, but she was so shaken up that they quickly changed sides." Quatre shook his head in sympathy for the poor girl. "Anyway, after that, Duo appeared again when the family was having dinner. They said they heard the unmistakable sound of someone running around upstairs. They also said that the footsteps would stop every once in a while and the sound of a window being closed could be heard. Then the running would start again.

"Sure enough, when the family went to investigate, the windows were closed and locked. And when the girl's father was about to open a window again, a thunderstorm began."

Quatre took a breath. Before he could continue, Trowa cut it, "Why don't I tell him the rest?" Quatre smiled gratefully and nodded.

"Duo is supposedly really shy; he only allowed himself to be seen twice while that family was there. Both times he was seen by the girl's grandmother and was facing the other direction, and both times took place in his old room. The first time she saw him was at night when she saw him bent over a grate in the fireplace. The second time he was standing next to a potted plant before melting away into the darkness. The next day they moved out." Trowa shrugged.

Heero thought about all this for a moment before telling his new friends about what Duo had done last night.

Trowa nodded and Quatre said, "Yeah, that sounds like Duo."

xxx

Later that afternoon, Heero's new friends walked him home. "See you later, Heero. Say hi to Duo for us!" Quatre said waving. Heero raised his hand and stepped inside.

"Hello, Heero!" he heard his mother call from the third floor somewhere. She walked to the top of the stairs. "Who are your new friends?" she asked while descending down the staircase.

Heero shrugged. "Just a few guys I met on my way out. The blonde one is Quatre, the tall one is Trowa." His mother nodded.

"Yes, I saw you talking to them through the window." She jerked a thumb towards a door down the hall. She dropped her arm and stared unbelievingly down the hall where Heero couldn't see.

"What is it?" he called up to his mother.

"Strange..." she whispered, "I was sure I left that door open..."

Heero smiled, gaining the attention of his mother. "What are you smiling at? That is not funny," she said curtly.

"It's just Duo," Heero said simply as he walked up the stairs toward his mother and Duo's presence.

"What?"

"Duo, Duo Maxwell." Heero looked down the hall at the door that was opening slowly and smiled. "Oi, Duo, Quatre and Trowa say hi." The sound of bare feet slapping on the wood floor was heard stepping out of the room and the door closed softly.

Heero turned to his mother, who looked very confused and stunned at the strange phenomenon. He turned back to the dark hall when the quiet footsteps continued on down the hall towards his room. Then his door opened with a slight creak and closed again.

Heero flashed his mother a quick smile before hurrying after the specter. 


	3. Ghostly Nights

Rewriting. 

Disclaimer: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 3: Ghostly Nights

Heero reached his room and opened the door very cautiously. "Duo?" he called. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He glanced around the room and grinned when he saw a very solid, colorful - very unlike what he assumed ghosts looked like - boy sitting in his desk chair, balancing a pencil on his fingertip.

"Duo?" Heero called again. This time Duo grinned broadly and thrust his hand into the air, sending the pencil flying above him. He then snatched it out of the air like any normal person would, and set in on the desk.

Then the braided boy stood up and met Heero's intent gaze with his huge, violet eyes. "Yes, I'm Duo." The ghost's voice was surprisingly clear and seemed overjoyed to have someone to talk to. "Did Q tell you about me?"

Heero assumed he meant Quatre. "Yeah."

"How is he?"

"Wonderful," he said with false enthusiasm. He walked around to his bed, inspecting Duo very closely before sitting down.

"Ok..." Duo quirked an eyebrow at Heero before sitting down again himself.

Heero's logical mind finally barged into his train of thought. "Are you really a ghost?" he asked skeptically.

Duo looked mildly offended. "Yes, I am..."

"This isn't some sort of trick?"

Duo shook his head seriously. Heero didn't ask further and Duo smiled again.

After a few moments of silence, something occurred to Heero. "How did you die?" he asked quickly.

Duo's smile faltered.

"U-unless you don't want to talk about it..." Heero sputtered. Duo looked down at the wood floor sadly and shook his head.

Heero nodded. "I understand."

The silence between them grew ever longer until Heero thought he might burst.

Duo sighed and looked up at Heero again, his previous joy restored. "Your name is Heero Yuy, right?"

Heero nodded. "How did you know that?" Duo grinned and patted the top of Heero's closed laptop.

"Hn."

"Are you going to stay here?" Duo suddenly asked hopefully. Heero looked up in surprise and at seeing Duo's enormous, pleading eyes, nodded slowly.

Duo jumped up, knocking the chair over. "That's great! I'll finally have someone to talk to!"

"I thought you were supposed to be shy..." Heero said suspiciously.

Duo shrugged and stood still for a moment, listening, before quickly fading away.

"Oi, wait!" Heero said before his mother burst into the room.

"What are you doing in here!" she nearly shouted when she saw the chair still lying on the floor.

Heero scoffed. "It wasn't me, it was Duo,"

"And who, may I ask, is Duo?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Heero sighed. "Duo is the ghost who haunts this house. He died when he was just 16 and I think he's lonely," Heero said defensively. That surprised him; he was defending a ghost. "Look, I'll tell you about it later, ok?" He rose from his bed and pushed her out the door, locking it behind her.

"Heero Yuy!" came her muffled voice from the other side.

"I swear I'll tell you about it later!" he shouted back. He heard her then stomping off down the hall and down the stairs. He turned around and walked back to his bed and sat down.

Duo then appeared, this time standing on Heero's bedstead. "Sorry... I am shy, around most people."

Heero arched an eyebrow. "Should I feel special that you let me see you?"

Duo shrugged and jumped off the bedstead. Heero could see the dip in the mattress where Duo stood, but felt nothing. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"What?"

"Am I not supposed to feel you?"

Duo shrugged again and stepped off the bed. "You can if I want you to, but I didn't really think you needed to because there wouldn't be much point in being a ghost if everyone could feel you."

Heero nodded. "But you said that I can if_you_ want me to, how is that possible?"

"Well, I'm not entirely sure," Duo said as he examined Heero's tiny Gundam figurine that he set on his shelf. He then turned around and walked to the window. "I can make myself look like how I was when I was alive; which is what you see. I can make myself look like how people assume ghosts look like,-" He turned to face Heero and lost all the color in him until he was white. He shrugged and turned to look out the window as his color came back. "And I can disappear altogether. But you already knew that." Duo smiled.

"And that's another thing; why did you do those things last night? Like turning on my light,-" Heero pointed to the lamp on his desk. "Tossing my stuff on the floor,-" Duo started turning crimson. "and pulling back my comforter." The last statement from Heero's mouth was but a whisper, making Duo's blush darken a few shades.

Duo shrugged again and said, "Well, I don't know... I guess I was kinda lonely..."

"You could've just talked to me, like now," Heero pointed out.

"I was waiting until you learned more about me... I assumed Q would tell you, and since he did I found no harm in showing myself to you."

"There was never any harm in "revealing" yourself to me in the first place." Heero made little quotation marks with his fingers in the air. Duo chuckled.

"No, I guess not. I just thought you might take having a ghost haunt your house the wrong way." He looked down sadly. "Like the last family that lived here, and my parents..." He swallowed hard and looked up at Heero again with tears in his eyes.

"Well that's probably what would've happened if Quatre hadn't told me about you and you kept wandering around the house doing things to creep me or my parents out," he said thoughtfully. "Anyway, that's what I think would've driven us out because that_is_ kinda freaky." Heero gave Duo a lop-sided smile. Duo smiled back and looked again out the window.

"Ooh, look!" he said, pointing. "Q's back!" Heero got up and walked to the window to see.

"Who're they?" he asked pointing to the black haired one and the woman walking beside him as they walked with Quatre and Trowa. "I haven't met them before."

"Oh, that's Wufei and Sally, they're a few more friends of mine." Duo smiled fondly. "I don't really know Sally that well, but I guess you could call her a friend..."

Heero nodded. "Ok," he said turning to Duo. "Uh, would you like to talk to them again?" he asked.

Duo's eyes brightened, making Heero smile. "Yeah, that'd be great!" He turned and looked out the window again just as the doorbell rang.

"We'll be right back," he said and ran out the door.

He opened the front door. "Wufei and Sally, right?" The two looked surprised but nodded. Heero turned to Quatre and Trowa. "Why don't you guys come in, Duo said he wants to talk to you guys again."

Three pairs of eyes widened, but Quatre said, "Oh, that would be great! It's been so long!" Heero stepped to one side, allowing them in.

"I think he's still in my room," Heero said while shutting the door behind Sally. He walked around them and started climbing the stairs. He turned around when he got to the top and noticed Sally hesitating while holding tightly onto Wufei's arm. She looked around the house nervously and whispered something in Wufei's ear. He nodded and she turned considerably white.

He turned around and led the way down the hall to his room where everyone filed in and stood there looking puzzled. Heero came in last and noticed that Duo was either not there, or not showing himself. He hoped for the latter.

"Uh, Duo?" he called. He then noticed that his laptop was open. He walked over to close it when it started typing "by itself". Everyone shuffled around the desk to get a better look, the typing said:

_Hi Q, Trowa, Wufei, Sally!_

Heero groaned. "Duo!" he said exasperatedly. "I thought you wanted to talk to them again!"

_I do!_

"Then come do so!"

_I can do it from here, thank you._

Heero put his hand on the back of his chair. "Come on, Duo, don't you want them to oh, I don't know..._see_ you?"

_Oh, fine..._

Duo then appeared sitting cross-legged behind them on the bedstead. Heero turned around and raised an eyebrow at him. "You like it up there, don't you?" Duo shrugged and smiled nervously at the four pairs of eyes staring unbelievingly at him.

"Uh, hi guys," he said waving. Heero turned his head to see their reactions.

Sally was white as a sheet, Quatre was beaming, Trowa didn't react, Wufei raised an eyebrow.

"Hi Duo!" Quatre said enthusiastically.

"Hi, Q," Duo said nervously.

The silence that followed seemed unbearable except to Trowa, Wufei, and Sally - who was too traumatized to care. Heero sighed and looked from Duo to the others nervously. "Uh, Duo...?" he asked.

Duo's eyes shifted to Heero's. He raised an eyebrow at him when Heero smacked his forehead and dragged his hand down his face. "Ok, this isn't going as well as I'd planned," He turned to Duo's four guests. "Would you guys like something to drink?"

Quatre shook his head. "No thank you."

Trowa shook his head too.

Wufei looked at Sally, who was still clutching his arm rather painfully. "I think a little water will do her some good," he said as he pried her off his arm and made her sit in the chair. She was shaking horribly.

"Right." Heero nodded and rushed from the room.

Downstairs, Mrs. Yuy was reading in the kitchen. "Are you going to explain to me about Duo now?" she asked without looking up. Heero shook his head.

"I just came down here to get some water for Sally; she's in really bad shape after actually_seeing_ Duo." He walked to the sink and filled a glass with cool water.

"When are you going to take the time to inform me about our poltergeist?" she asked as she turned the page.

Heero sighed. "I told you already! Duo Maxwell died here when he was 16 and is now haunting the house." With that, he stormed out of the kitchen.

When he got to his room, he saw that Duo was no longer there/visible, and Quatre was now kneeling next to Sally's trembling chair talking to her in a soft and concerned voice. Trowa stood behind Quatre and Wufei was now behind Sally's chair holding onto her shoulders.

Heero walked slowly up to the group and handed Quatre the cup of water, who tried to get Sally to calm down enough so she could drink it. Heero then went to stand next to Wufei. "What happened?" he asked him in a whisper.

"Duo said that he thought it best for Sally if he just left, and when he disappeared Sally just about had a nervous breakdown," Wufei replied, then kneeled next to Quatre.

xxx

"Duo, it wasn't your fault!" Heero told Duo for the billionth time that evening.

"Yes it was! I didn't see another ghost in the room that she could've been freaked out about!" Duo protested yet again.

"Don't beat yourself up about this Duo, it's not your fault you're a ghost. Besides, can you really blame_anyone_ for being scared of a ghost?" Heero asked while typing something on the computer.

Duo sighed and stretched out on the bed. "No, I guess not..."

"Glad you're starting to think straight again."

Duo stuck his tongue out at Heero's back and pushed himself to the end of the bed so his braid touched the ground. "What're you doing, anyway?" he asked as he pushed himself further off the bed, head first.

"Nothing."

Duo looked up to glare at Heero when he saw that his laptop was closed and he had his chair turned so he could watch Duo. He quirked an eyebrow at Duo when he pushed himself off the bed too far and fell off the bed, but just before his head collided with the hard wood floor, he disappeared and wound up sitting on Heero's pillows.

"Hn," Heero snorted. He looked at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already 12:03.

Duo looked at the clock too. "Oh, bedtime!" He jumped up and disappeared above Heero's bed. Heero shook his head and clicked off the light. He let his eyes adjust to the dark before rising and heading across the room towards his bed. He looked down and scowled at the lump hidden under the covers with just one long braid sticking out. "Duo..." Heero warned. Duo's amethyst eyes popped out from under the blanket and blinked at Heero.

"I don't have a bed..." he pouted. Heero raised his eyebrows. "Hey, ghosts need to sleep too!" he said defensively.

"You didn't sleep here last night."

"Yes I did," he said casually.

Heero glared at Duo. "You _did_!"

He nodded. "Yes, for three reasons: One, this is still my room. Two, my parents took my bed with them when they moved out. And three, I'm tired." He rolled over onto his other side, away from Heero and pulled the comforter tighter around himself.

Heero sighed. "Well then could you move over?" His bed_was_ big enough for two people to sleep and have plenty of room left over. Duo happily scooted to the other side and rolled over on his other side to face Heero.

"Night, Hee-chan!" he said and closed his eyes before he could see the glare Heero shot at him.

Heero closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't call me that..." he muttered softly, causing Duo to open one eye and grin before falling asleep.


	4. Sound Asleep, or Otherwise?

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi, Relena bashing

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

I'm going to use / to switch places, like from Heero's house to Quatre's house. And this : means an action at the previous setting. (I hope that makes sense)

Duo?  
Chapter 4: Sound Asleep, or Otherwise?

Heero was roused the next morning when he felt something solid across his legs and side. He opened his eyes and realized that it was still dark. He was lying on his left side, facing his bedside table, so he looked at the clock.

'3:28...' he thought. He looked down at his half-covered top and realized what the strange things laying across him were: Duo.

Duo had his arm over Heero's middle and his leg was apparently sprawled over his own legs.

Heero was not really comprehending this very well and glanced toward the other side of the bed where Duo soundly slept. Duo's head was turned away from him and he was laying on his stomach rather close to Heero, considering how much of the bed that was vacant that he could be occupying. Heero blinked blearily at Duo as he stirred, turning his head to the other side so Heero could see his face and bringing himself closer to Heero.

Heero blinked again. Then he turned around and went back to sleep.

Duo then opened his eyes slightly and smiled tiredly at Heero who had allowed him to edge closer. Duo silently wondered if Heero was not moving him back to his side on purpose, or whether he was just too tired to care...

xxx

Heero woke up again, this time at 8:05. He opened his eyes and rolled onto his back. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before he remembered that Duo was probably up now and might want his company.

'He seemed to this morning,' he thought and shook his head. 'No... He was asleep, he didn't know what he was doing.'

'Is that why I didn't move him?' a different part of him asked. 'I know I felt him...' Then his eyes widened. 'He said that I could only feel him if he _wanted_ me to...'

His more sensible side returned. 'He wasn't thinking, he couldn't have done that on purpose if he was asleep... could he?'

His thoughts were then interrupted by his door's creaking and his mother stepping inside. "Good morning, Heero!" she said with a bright smile. Heero sighed, did she _really_ feel it necessary to come in every morning and greet him?

She walked to his bed and sat down at his feet. "Heero, I was wondering if Duo has ever taken anything of yours?"

Heero propped himself up onto his elbows and gave her a confused look.

"Because, I can't find my favourite pen anywhere!" she said and sighed. "I don't know why a ghost would want a pen... but's it's definitely gone." She shook her head. "Well, tell me if you find it!" she said and left, closing the door behind her.

Heero fell back onto his pillows and groaned. "Duo..." he called, sounding like he was just barely keeping ahold of his anger at the braided baka.

Duo drifted in through the wall by the unused fireplace. "You rang?"

Heero glared up at Duo's cheery face. "Did you take my mom's pen?" he asked. Duo tilted his head to one side with a curious look on his face.

"Pen?"

"Yes, pen, it's her favourite pen and she thinks you took it. Did you?" Duo shook his head and smiled. Heero raised an eyebrow and rolled his eyes. Duo shrugged and departed through the same wall. Heero watched the wall for a few moments before swinging his legs out from under the covers and got up to get dressed.

When unfolding his jeans, a purple pen fell out and onto the floor with a small click. Slipping the jeans on, he picked up the pen and inspected it. He sighed. "Duo?"

Duo appeared on his bedstead again, sitting cross-legged and fingering the end of his braid. "Yes?" he said boredly.

"What is this?" Heero asked, holding up the pen with one hand and placing his other hand on his hip.

"That would be a pen," Duo answered blandly without looking up.

Heero sighed. "I know that, but what was it doing in my jeans?"

Duo shrugged. "How should I know?"

"Because you're the only one who's in here during the day besides me, and my parents wouldn't have put it there, you know that."

Duo looked up at Heero with a strange look on his face; he looked either calm or tired and he wasn't smiling, which was odd. It was an almost longing look. He blinked lazily and disappeared.

'That was weird,' Heero thought as he left the room to give the pen back to his mother. He walked down the stairs and into the living room where his mother was writing in a notebook.

She looked up and smiled at Heero when he showed her the pen. "Did Duo have it?" she asked as she took the pen from her son.

He shrugged. "I assume so, it was in my jeans."

"Your jeans?"

He nodded and turned around to go back upstairs to talk to Duo. "Heero?" his mother called him back. He glanced over his shoulder to see her walking towards him. "Are you ok?"

Heero nodded again, although he knew he was lying. He was still wondering about last night with Duo...

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom, I'm just a little tired." She nodded and smiled at him.

Taking that as a dismissal, he turned and climbed the stairs again. "Heero?" a voice called from his room. He looked up. "What's wrong?" Duo appeared in his doorway just as he was about to go in.

Heero blinked at him. "Nothing's wrong."

"I suppose you're tired?" Duo said, raising an eyebrow. Heero blinked again. "I don't believe you."

Heero shrugged. "Then don't."

"C'mon! Tell me! What'd you do?"

'It's what I _didn't_ do...' Heero thought to himself as he remembered that he hadn't moved Duo off of him for some unknown reason. He walked to his chair and opened his laptop. "I didn't do anything..." he said softly. 'Well, that was true...' he thought as he started up the computer.

Duo stood silent for a moment with a strange expression on his face, not like the last one, but this one was thoughtful and perhaps curious. Heero glanced at him to see why he was being so quiet and Duo felt his cheeks grow warm. He looked down and shuffled his feet, which made Heero wonder again if he had done those things last night on purpose.

He looked back down at the screen and decided that he didn't know what he was doing, so he decided to get online. He groaned when an IM came up. Duo walked over to stand behind Heero. "What is it?" he asked.

"Relena..." Heero said with disgust. The type was in pink and it was a very small, neat font:

_Hello, Heero! I haven't talked to you in a while, not since you moved._

Heero started typing back with his quick fingers:

_Haven't you figured out that I did that on purpose?_

Duo's eyebrows raised.

_Oh, don't be silly!_

"Who is she?" Duo asked as Heero sighed exasperatedly.

"She was a girl who lived on my block in my last house, she can't get it through her thick head that I hate her..." he shuddered. "I think she has some sort of hairspray force field around her head or something."

Duo laughed. "Is she really that bad?"

"Worse..." He started typing again:

_Want to talk to Duo?_ He smiled.

_Uh, sure, who's Duo?_

_You'll see._

Heero got up and handed Duo the laptop. "Is there any way you can communicate that you're a ghost?" Duo stared at the screen and nodded subconsciously. "How?"

Duo grinned mischievously. "People just... know."

Heero shrugged as he started typing:

_Hello, Relena, I'm Duo._

/Relena's house/

_Hello, Relena, I'm Duo._ she read and suddenly felt cold. Her fingers felt like ice and she could definitely see her own breath, this confused her since it was summer. She hesitated to answer.

_Are you there?_ She shivered and tried to type with shaking hands:

_I have to go._

_Oh? What's wrong?_

:Duo grinned and Heero laughed when he told him what was happening to her:

Relena glanced around the room and noticed that it was very dark, even though the window was open the darkness seemed to lock the sunlight away outside of her room. She couldn't even see the window. She started typing again, her hands shaking worse than ever from fear:

_Nothing, I just remembered that I have to meet some friends at the mall in 15 minutes._

:Duo and Heero laughed as she signed off:

Slowly, the darkness in her room melted away and the sun shone brightly through the window again. Relena stopped shivering and knew that this had something to do with that "Duo" person. She then rushed from the room.

/Heero's house/

Duo held the laptop out to Heero as he rose from the chair. Heero grasped the laptop and in doing so, his fingers slid over Duo's. Duo turned scarlet and pulled away quickly and hurried to the window. Heero blinked. Duo felt odd... not like last night, probably because there had been clothing between them, but Duo's touch had sent a tingling sensation through his fingers... And he liked it...


	5. Admitting Love?

Rewriting still. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW, nor the story "Cry-Woman's Bridge".

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 5: Admitting Love?

Heero flexed his fingers, clenching and unclenching them until the strange feeling disappeared. Duo stood nervously by the window, shifting from foot to foot and wringing his hands behind his back. "I-I-I'm sorry," he stuttered quickly, avoiding Heero's eyes. "That must've felt weird, I'm sorry." He turned towards the bookcase, his back to Heero and brought his hands out in front of him just so that he could wring them again.

Heero looked up with a blank look on his face. "No..." his voice was just above a whisper so Duo could hear him. "No, it-it didn't - I mean, it did, but..." He couldn't bring himself to say that he liked it, now _that_ would be weird, especially to Duo. Duo turned slightly and peered at Heero out of the corner of his eye.

"'But' what?" he asked quietly. Heero turned his gaze to his fingers, searching his brain frantically for an excuse...

"But..." He sighed. "Nothing." 'Oh that was great, Heero, perfect... I know you can do better than that!'

Duo, who'd turned fully around to watch Heero, blinked once. Twice. Then he suddenly dropped his eyes to the floor and looked incredibly sad. Heero's eyes widened, he didn't want to make Duo feel bad, he couldn't bear to see his amethyst eyes fill with sadness. "Duo?" He quickly crossed the room to stand next to the braided boy. He wondered if he should try to put an arm across his shoulders, not sure if it would just go through the boy.

He decided to try. He lifted his arm and timidly reached for Duo's braid. 'Maybe if I touch his braid and my hand goes through it, he won't feel it because it's hair, right? And if I _can_ feel it, I'll surely be able to feel the rest of him.'

He touched the braid. It was soft and he could feel the braid itself, he didn't go through! He quickly put a comforting arm around Duo's shoulders, sighing inwardly when he didn't go through. Duo snapped his head up to look into sapphire orbs.

Heero smiled at him, Duo dropped his gaze again to the floor. "Don't worry about it, it didn't feel _that_ weird, it was kinda strange, but it's nothing to sulk over." Duo nodded.

"Yeah, you're right... I guess I just overreacted."

While Duo spoke, Heero noticed that there was barely any space left between them, and he realized that he could smell the ghost that was currently under one of his arms. He inhaled quietly.

'Vanilla...'

"Hm?"

"I said, I'm sorry I overreacted, thank you," Duo repeated.

Heero detected the "you-can-let-me-go-now" tone in Duo's voice and pulled his arm away. "Uh, yeah, no problem," he said and noticed that he really wanted to touch Duo again, he wanted to feel that strange tingling feeling again...

He mentally slapped himself and stepped away from Duo, feeling his cheeks burn. He ducked his head and turned away.

Duo blinked. 'What a confusing person...' He shook his head and walked to the bookcase. He pulled out a book and started flipping through the pages. "What's this?" he asked.

"Ghost stories," Heero replied, glancing at the book. Duo stopped and read the title of the next one.

"Do you believe them?"

Heero shrugged. "I don't know, it says that they're true, but I'm not so sure."

Duo nodded and started reading one that looked interesting. "I've never read any ghost stories before," he said thoughtfully. He made his way slowly over to the bed without looking up from the words and sat down to read.

_'Cry-Woman's Bridge_

_The town of Dublin straddles U.S. Highway 40 in east-central Indiana between Richmond and Indianapolis. It is a fairly typical, small midwestern city, dependent on a diversified industrial and agricultural industry and the trade a major highway can bring to city buisnesses._

_There was also once a bridge which stood on Heacock Road, southeast of Dublin, a bridge known to local residents as "Cry-Woman's Bridge." The bridge is gone now, but its ghostly legend lingers.'_

Duo looked up at Heero who was peering over his shoulder at the story which had sparked his interest. "Ooh, that's a good one, you should read these while I'm gone during the day so you're not bored," he suggested. Duo turned back to the pages of the book and nodded.

_'The young woman who gave her name to the bridge was a stranger to the country, unfamiliar with the numerous twisting country roads. Late one rainy night, while returning home with her infant son, the woman approached the bridge far too quickly, lost control of her car at the sharp curve just before the bridge entrance, and plunged into the rain-swollen creek below.'_

Duo looked up and realized that he was alone. He shrugged when he heard Heero's footsteps clunking down the stairs.

Heero reached the front door and departed from his house to visit Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. Wufei said that he might be able to coax Sally to come, but he wasn't sure it would work. Heero then started off down the street to the park where they all agreed to meet.

xxx

Duo rose and decided to roam the house while reading and walked out of the room. He walked slowly down the hall and read.

_'The woman's body was later found by searchers. However, there was no sign of her baby. Only a little pink blanket and a baby's pacifier were recovered. The woman's relatives could not be located, and she was buried in a pauper's grave next to a coffin which held the infant's blanket and pacifier.'_

Duo reached the stairs and slid down the railing and jumped down to the floor. He walked into the living room and started down a long hallway.

_'Following the incident, the ghost of a woman was said to be seen prowling the bridge, particularly on foggy, rainy nights. And the specter's infrequent appearances are accented by pitiful moans and sobs and a choking cry that seemingly pleads "Where is my baby?"'_

Duo looked through a door and found yet another long hallway and walked through it.

xxx

Heero soon found himself at the park where Quatre and Trowa sat at a bench, talking and waiting for him and Wufei. They looked up as he came nearer and Quatre smiled brightly and rose to greet him.

"Hello, Heero!" He glanced over Heero's shoulder and smiled wider. He waved. "Hi Wufei! I see Sally didn't want to come," he said and walked back to Trowa's side.

Heero looked over his shoulder too and saw Wufei shake his head as he came closer. Once they were all assembled, Heero started telling his three friends about Duo's strange actions, like the fact that he slept in his bed the first night without his consent, how he woke up the second night, what happened this morning with the tingling feeling, and how he reacts when Heero looks at him in the eyes. He started pacing halfway through his story and suddenly stopped and looked up hopefully at each of them in turn.

Quatre spoke first, "It sounds like Duo likes you." He shrugged. "We always knew he didn't like girls, and he told us once that he was, indeed, gay." Quatre smiled at Trowa.

Heero groaned. "Great, my house polergeist has a crush on me..." He sat down hard on the bench next to the one Quatre and Trowa were occupying. "What am I going to do?"

Quatre shrugged again. "I don't know, it's obvious that you don't like him back..." He thought for a moment.

'Don't I?' Heero asked himself and pondered about what to do about Duo if he really did like him.

Receiving no glares or "Of course I don't!"s, Quatre started to wonder about which way his new friend Heero swung. Heero looked up at Quatre's raised eyebrow and blinked.

He looked at Trowa and Wufei who were also watching him with strange expressions. Wufei gave him a critical look, making him sigh in defeat. "All right, I admit it, I liked that weird feeling that came when I touched Duo's fingers..."

Quatre beamed, Wufei shrugged, and Trowa nodded.

xxx

Duo sighed and looked around. He had somehow ended up in the kitchen and walked back to the living room to sit down and read. While passing the staircase, he heard a high-pitched squeak come from the top. "Huh?" he turned around and blinked at Heero's mother who stood there with her hands clasped over her mouth, her eyes were wide above them.

Duo smiled nervously and closed the book, holding his place with his finger. "Uh, hello Mrs. Yuy," he said and waved.

She slowly brought her hands down from her mouth and gave him a questioning look. "Are you Duo?" she asked, no hint of fear in her voice.

He nodded. She smiled in relief and continued, "I thought ghosts were a little bit... whiter."

Duo smiled broadly. "I can look like that if you want!" he said proudly. All his color promptly drained from his features and clothes.

Mrs. Yuy nodded. "Heero has told me vaguely about you," she said as she decended the stairs. "He never really took the time to fill me in completely, are you busy?"

Duo shook his head and held up the book. "I'm just reading one of Hee-ch...ro's books." He laughed nervously. He didn't want to call Heero by his nickname in front of his mother, just in case. She nodded again and read the title of the book.

"'Haunted Heartland', hm? Well, I guess that's Heero for you; he loves to read ghost stories." She laughed fondly. "Ah, well, you can go ahead and finish that, I've still got some exploring to do!" And with that, she smiled warmly, turned on the ball of her foot, and walked away.

Duo shook his head and finished his journey to the living room and sat down to read some more.

_'A young couple parked near the bridge one evening a few years ago. A short while later, they heard scratching sounds coming from the roof and trunk of the car. They were aware of the bridge's "ghostly" reputation and decided to leave. But their car wouldn't start! Suddenly, the scratching became louder and louder, accompanied now by heart-stopping wails. A voice drifted toward them crying, "Baby, where have you gone? Baby, where have you gone?"'_

xxx

Heero buried his head in his hands and cried, "What am I going to do? What if I_do_ like a ghost? That doesn't really do me much good..." He mumbled some unclear words and sighed. "You know, it's like Duo said, what point is there in being a ghost when everyone can feel you?"

"That doesn't really matter. You said that he told you that you could only feel him if _he wanted _you to, right? And then you felt him, twice, doesn't that mean that he does want you to be able to feel him?" Quatre said as he fiddled with his watch band.

"I guess," Heero murmured.

"Right, then if he wants you to feel him, maybe he..." Quatre was cut off by a warning glare from Heero. He sighed. "Well, you know it's true."

"If you're just going to talk to Quatre, can I leave?" Wufei asked.

Heero turned his glare to him. "Well, if you had any ideas on the situation, maybe I wouldn't be just talking to Quatre."

One more pair of eyes plus one turned to Wufei expectantly. Wufei sighed. "I think you should just let him know how you feel, and if he rejects you, then he'll probably disappear for the rest of your life or something, therefore, you wouldn't have a problem anymore."

Quatre closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, Trowa raised an eyebrow, and Heero groaned. "Then I would have an even bigger problem. If he got mad at me, my house would probably burn to the ground within minutes! I wouldn't be surprised if he did reject me, but he's a ghost who can disappear and walk through walls, I don't exactly want to piss him off."

Wufei shrugged. "Well, that's my advice, if you don't like it, fine, I'm leaving." He waved over his shoulder whilst walking back toward the neighbourhood.

Heero shook his head and turned back to Quatre. "Should I tell him?"

xxx

Duo's eyes widened with interest at the last paragraph. He glanced up as a clanking noise was heard from the hallway where Mrs. Yuy had gone, and that had eventually led him to the kitchen. He smiled and shook his head before continuing with the story.

_'The young couple finally got the car started. They examined it later and found scratches all over the hood, scratches that might have been caused by a woman's long fingernails!_

_Has the ghost ever found its offspring? Or is it still searching? No one really knows for sure.'_

Duo sighed. "That's kinda creepy."

"What's kinda creepy?"

Duo jumped and whirled around. He clutched his hand to his heart. "Geez, Hee-chan, you scared me!" Heero raised an eyebrow at the nickname and rolled his eyes.

"I told you not to call me that."

"Why not?"

Heero sighed. "Because I said so."

Duo stood and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Heero. "Where were you anyway?" he asked as he stalked toward him.

Heero blinked. "I was with Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei at the park," he replied blandly. Duo quirked an eyebrow and walked around him and raced up the stairs. He bounced at the top one and sat down hard.

"I don't believe you."

Heero grinned. "Then don't." He remembered their last conversation that went like this earlier today.

Duo rolled his eyes and fell backwards into the hallway, his long legs still hanging on the stairs. Heero shook his head and started climbing the stairs to go to his room. When he reached Duo he looked down at him with a questioning expression. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you how you found out what my name was? I mean, I know you found out with my computer, but where did you go to find out?" He wondered if it was safe to write in his computer journal anymore, just in case Duo had gotten in and read it.

"I looked in Microsoft Word and found a school paper with your name on it."

Heero nodded and sighed inwardly. He turned to go to his room to write in his journal (which by the way was very protected with dozens of passwords and puzzles that only he could get through with one single password).

"Don't bug me for a while, ok?" he called over his shoulder.

Duo shrugged. "Ok, I'll just read some more ghost stories." He opened the book to the Table of Contents to look for interesting titles.

Heero sighed and shut the door behind him. He wasn't worried about Duo looking over his shoulder at what he was typing because he could usually feel it when he was present.

He started up the computer and typed the password only he knew so he didn't have to go through all the other passwords and puzzles. He then started typing:

_June 5_

_This has been one hell of a few days, since I last wrote, I met my house ghost, slept with him, and also made a couple new friends along the way. I think I'm also falling for him, and even though he IS a ghost, I can feel him and the way it feels when his skin touches mine is making it worse; I like it..._

_I actually find myself wondering if that feeling was just a one time thing, and if it was, I have to say that I'm disappointed. I kind of wish it would happen more often, and that I could tell Duo how I feel, but I fear rejection. Yes I do fear something._

_Quatre thinks he likes me too, but I'm not so sure, I really hope he does... I don't know if I'll be able to face him again if he were to reject me. But I guess that's just how it goes when someone falls for a ghost..._


	6. Nightmare

Rewriting. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi, Dream sequence in italics.

Duo?  
Chapter 6: Nightmare

Duo knocked on Heero's door about two hours later. "Are you done yet, Hee-chan?"

Heero sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. "Huh? Duo?"

Duo opened the door a crack and peeked in. Seeing Heero still lying in bed, he walked in. "Why were you sleeping? Didn't you get enough sleep last night?" Duo's eyes widened at his own question.

Heero's head snapped up. Duo plastered an innocent smile on his face. He groaned and fell back onto his pillow and covered his face with another. He sighed. "I got plenty of sleep last night, I was just tired," he replied from under the pillow.

With Heero looking at nothing but the pillow, Duo smacked himself upside the head and tugged on his braid. He stared at the pillow covering Heero's face and wondered if he knew... 'What if he know's I'm head over heels in love? How can I tell him without actually _telling_ him?' he thought to himself.

He sighed, making Heero take the pillow off his face and look at him. "You ok, Duo?" he asked.

Duo started to panic. 'Should I tell him now? What should I do?'

'Fine. Tell him nothing is wrong, everything is fine!' another part of him said. 'There's a better way of telling him you love him...' "Yeah, I'm ok, just thinking..." he said as he sat down in Heero's chair. Heero shrugged and sat up.

xxx

Later that night, Heero decided to go to bed early; around 11 o'clock.

"Why so early?" Duo asked as Heero clicked the light off. He was still sitting in Heero's chair and squinted into the dark room to see Heero's outline climbing into his bed.

"I don't know," Heero sighed. "I just need to get more sleep." Duo's face turned to the floor sadly, he didn't know why he was sad but... he was very depressed right now. "Aren't you coming?" Heero's voice came again from the darkness.

Duo shook his head and realized that Heero probably couldn't see him so he said, "Naw, I think I'll stay up a while longer, night." And with that, he walked out of the room.

Heero blinked, a little disappointed. "Night, Duo," he whispered to the closed door.

Duo walked downstairs and saw that Heero's parents were already in bed and probably sound asleep. He went into the kitchen and flipped on the light. He sat down at the table and launched himself deep into thought. 'How do I let Heero know how I feel?' He looked around the kitchen and started drawing things on the table with his finger.

He sighed. 'This is getting me nowhere... I need an idea...' He glanced around the kitchen again and his eyes finally landed on the yellow rose in a vase in the center of the table. 'Yellow means friendship...' Duo thought as he reached for the beautiful rose.

'I need one that stands for love...' He smacked his forehead. "Duh!" he said aloud. He dropped his voice to a whisper, "Red stands for love..."

'I can't just give him a red rose, there has to be more...'

xxx

Heero sat up in bed and snatched his book light from his bedside table. He flipped it on and opened the drawer on his bedside table, he took out a notebook and pen and clipped the book light onto the notebook.

He then started writing:

3 words:

1 - A word that means me, 2 - Only a heart can tell, 3 - A word in second person that means yourself

He stopped and thought about the second one... He decided to write that one down too, just so he didn't forget it:

831:

8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning

He stopped and read over the strange words that had suddenly popped up in his head while he was just about to fall asleep.

"I...

Love...

You..."

He whispered the words to himself and smiled at his creations. 'But which one should I give him?' He then had a long debate with himself, deciding which one to go with... He finally decided to flip a coin. He grabbed one that he had on his desk and flipped it, caught it, and turned it upside down on the back of his hand. Before uncovering it, he decided which one each side stood for, first one - heads, second one - tails.

He uncovered his hand. Tails. (1) He then decided that he would split up the "831" thing into three parts, left somewhere for his love to find separately.

He smiled in satisfaction and hid the notebook in the drawer again and fell asleep happy.

xxx

'Purple!' he thought. 'Then red... Then...' He thought for a moment. 'Blue! Of course!'

He pictured the three roses lined up in a row. "Purple for me, red for love, blue for Heero..." he whispered, grinning.

'I Love You'

He yawned. He clicked off the kitchen light and went upstairs. He yawned again and walked through the wall. He saw Heero sound asleep and smiled. He walked to the other side of the bed and climbed in slowly so he wouldn't disturb his love.

He closed his eyes and once again pictured the three roses that held his message to Heero. He then fell into a deep sleep and dreamed about roses, his love being returned, and sapphires.

xxx

_Heero opened his eyes. He blinked when he realized that Duo's face was hovering just above his. He blinked again and saw that Duo was leaning over him from his side of the bed, his long hair hung around him like a curtain and he smiled down at Heero._

_"Duo?" he asked sleepily, his voice soft and slow. Duo's smile widened._

_"Heero..." he whispered and leaned forward to kiss him. Heero was surprised at first to feel Duo's lips on his but he closed his eyes quickly. He felt Duo's tongue on his lips and opened his mouth, allowing Duo's tongue to caress his. He moaned into the kiss and Duo suddenly pulled back._

_Heero sat up and reached for Duo's lovely heart shaped face but was stopped when Duo grabbed his wrist harshly. Duo's eyes were unblinking and seemed to burn with hate. He scowled at Heero and threw down his arm. He shook his head like he was disgusted and disappeared._

_Heero was now running through the huge house, he couldn't control where he was going and the doors sprang open long before he got to them. All the other doors stayed closed as he raced through the ones that opened. He ran into one dark room and came to a halt._

_He heard the door close behind him and the room lost all light. "Duo?" he called and took a timid step forward, only to be suddenly hurled against the wall behind him painfully. He looked up and gasped as Duo's glowing form walked slowly up to him with a smug grin on his face, his eyes still filled with hatred for him._

_Heero rose slowly from the ground, his back stinging from the blow. "Why did you do this Duo?" he asked vehemently. Duo's eyes narrowed._

_"Don't you get it? I know how you feel about me." He chuckled. "It's pitiful." He shook his head, his eyes never leaving Heero's._

_"That doesn't explain this!" Heero nearly shouted._

_Duo's eyes narrowed even more until his eyes were mere slits. He glowered at Heero. He blurred and Heero doubled over in pain. Duo had appeared at Heero's side and had his fist launched into Heero's stomach._

_"How DARE you?" he hissed. He drew back his fist and watched as Heero fell to his knees. He blurred again and appeared back in front of Heero. He grinned when Heero started to scream in pain. "You see, when you allowed me to kiss you like that, you were allowing me to poison you. When I found out that you had fallen for me, I just couldn't let that go on." He shook his head and chuckled as Heero tried to hold back another scream as pain shot through his body again. Instead it came out as a low hiss._

_"What this sort of poison does-" He started pacing in front of Heero's trembling form. "-is sort of what happens with a black widow spider's poison." He stopped and held up a hand and a huge black widow crawled out of his sleeve into his palm. "Have you ever been bitten by a black widow spider? Hm? No? Well, it kicks in very fast, and it feels like someone has crushed your muscles with a sledgehammer." He turned over his hand so the spider could walk to the other side and grinned as Heero hissed again. "Your back feels like it has been twisted and wrung out like a rag by the hands of a giant. You will die slowly and painfully, like you should."_

_Heero opened one eye and tried his best to glare at Duo. He screamed again as another, more painful wave washed through his body, making it feel just how Duo described it. He started screaming Duo's name, inbetween the pain jolts which were becoming more frequent by the second._

_Just when he wished he could just have a quicker death, he heard a voice calling him..._

Heero opened his eyes and immediately saw Duo's worried face above him, his hair hung around him like a curtain. His eyes widened. "NO!" he shouted and shoved Duo away as hard as he could, thrusting him to the very end of the bed. Duo looked up at Heero with wide eyes that were quickly filling with tears.

Heero shook his head and ran from the room. He raced to the front door and ran as fast as he could down the street. He ran for a few minutes until he got to the park, he slowed to a walk and looked around the dark area. He sat down when he realized how much his bare feet hurt and glanced at them, they were covered in scratches that were already starting to bleed. He winced and sat back into the bench and sighed up at the stars.

After sitting there looking at the stars for about 10 minutes, he decided he should go home and explain to Duo why he was being so harsh. But it had felt so real, the pain that shot through him in the dark room, Duo's laughter still rang in his ears, and it all seemed so real, his dreams usually were much more blurred than this one had been and there were never complete speeches that he could remember every word of.

Duo would never try to kill him, would he? 'No, Duo's my... friend.' He shuddered. That's the kind of thing that had made Duo do that in his dream in the first place; he had found out about Heero's love for him and was therefore punishing him.

He rose from the bench and shoved the complaints from his feet away from his mind; the poison from his dream had been about ten-jillion times worse. He sighed and started walking down the road again.

When he got home, he quietly closed the door behind him and walked very slowly up the stairs. His parents had their door open and saw him walk by. His mother rose quickly and was about to say something before Heero cut her off, "Mom, please don't. I don't want to talk about it." His eyes pleaded for her to let him go to his room, but another part of him didn't want to face Duo again. His mother nodded and smiled at her son, so he turned around and walked ever so slowly back to his room.

He hesitated at the door and bit his lip. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Duo was nowhere to be seen, as Heero had expected.

He came in and shut the door behind him. "Duo... I owe you an explanation," he said apologetically to the air, his voice soft. He kept his eyes directed at the floor and he crossed the room to sit on the bed, waiting to see if Duo would come.

After a few moments, Duo wandered slowly into the room through a wall. His eyes were still shimmering and Heero had to look down again. "It was... a dream, I woke up like that-" He jerked a thumb behind him. "-with you leaning over me like that and it just... scared me."

Duo sniffed quietly. "I woke you up because you looked like you were having a nightmare," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off Heero's.

"I'm sorry," Heero whispered. "It was an awful dream and since that's how it began, I panicked."

Duo blinked and nodded. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Heero didn't reply right away. Instead, he hesitated and debated whether to tell Duo or not. 'Well, maybe not _all_ of it...' "Y-you were trying to kill me, that's all." He shuddered as he thought about the dream. He drew in a shaky breath and looked up at Duo's surprised face.

"Me?"

Heero nodded. "It felt so real... I could feel the things that were happening to me as though they were real, and everything was so clear unlike most of my other dreams, and you looked the same when I woke up as in the beginning of the dream, so..." Duo nodded.

"I understand." He gave Heero a lop-sided smile.

"I didn't _hurt_ you, did I?" Heero's expression twisted into one of concern. Duo shook his head and smiled.

"You just surprised me, that's about it," he said, rubbing his chest where Heero had hit him. "Do you think you can get back to sleep?" he asked as he looked at the clock. It was the same time Heero had awoke the previous morning when he felt Duo. 3:28... How odd...

Then Heero realized something: In the dream, when Duo's skin, etc. had touched him, that tingling feeling hadn't come.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I should probably try..."

Duo nodded and rose from the desk chair. He walked somewhat cautiously around Heero and climbed into his side of the bed. Heero turned off the lamp and got in too.

"I'm really sorry I scared you, Heero," Duo said quietly.

Heero shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, it was mine; I should've realized that it wasn't a dream anymore." Duo smiled and closed his eyes. Heero watched him for a moment as Duo snuggled into the pillow and sighed before closing his own eyes.

It took a while for him to fall asleep, but eventually, he plunged into a deep, dreamless sleep.

XXXXXX

1: I really did flip a coin, and that's what it landed on.


	7. Sacrifices: Whatever Makes You Happy

Rewriting. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 7: Sacrifices: Whatever Makes You Happy

Heero awoke that morning feeling refreshed. He got out of bed and got dressed. He then decided to look for Duo, he wanted very much to see him for some reason. He walked to the top of the stairs and glanced down into the living room where he spotted the top of Duo's head behind the couch. He smiled and descended the stairs.

He went to the couch to find Duo curled up with his nose in the book "Haunted Heartland". Heero snapped his fingers in front of Duo's face, making him close the book in surprise. Duo glared at him. "You made me lose my spot!"

Heero flapped a hand at him. "You'll be able to find it again." He wasn't about to let Duo's anger upset his good mood. He smiled at Duo's scowl as he searched for his lost place and walked outside. As he closed the door, he heard footsteps coming up behind him at a fast pace. He turned around and saw Quatre jogging towards him, Trowa once again trailing behind.

"Hi, Heero," he said as Heero stepped off the porch.

"Hi, Q, hi Trowa," he replied. He dropped his voice. "I have to talk to you..."

Quatre tilted his head. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Mmm... Kinda." He started walking down towards the park and motioned for them to follow. "You see, I had this dream, where Duo was trying to kill me." Quatre's eyebrows rose. "Well... first he kissed me, but later he explained that he was poisoning me. He had found out about my falling for him and he said he couldn't let that go on..." He looked up hopefully at Quatre, who was watching Trowa with a concerned face. Trowa nodded to Heero so he continued, "But it was the way that it started that's weird... Duo was leaning over me as I woke up and then he was positioned the same way when he woke me up for real."

Quatre bit his lip. "Well, I'm getting an inkling that you don't want to tell Duo you love him just yet because of this dream," he said knowingly.

Heero stared at him for a moment before realizing how obvious that must be. "Well, yeah, but another thing is that when I really woke up and saw Duo, I panicked and... er, ran away..." he said, bowing his head to hide his slight blush.

Quatre blinked and said, "You ran away? What do you mean?"

"Er... well... When I realized that this was how the dream started, I..." he trailed off.

"What did you do?" Quatre asked, sympathy showing in his voice.

"I... I pushed him away... Then I ran away from the house," he finished guiltily.

Trowa's one visible eyebrow arched. "You _pushed him_?" Quatre whispered fiercely.

Heero nodded. "Yes, I shoved him away. And when I came back he had been crying... What does that mean? Did I just hurt his feelings, or what?"

"You probably did, he didn't know what you were thinking. But since we know he might like you too, it's more than likely that he's a bit afraid of you now," Quatre replied thoughtfully.

"He said that I looked like I was having a nightmare and therefore thought it best to wake me," Heero added.

Quatre nodded. "Yes, there, you see - he didn't know what you had dreamt, he didn't know what he'd done wrong. You know, he probably thinks that you woke up, saw him, and got the wrong idea, and he's definitely not going to tell you about his feelings anytime soon."

"But we don't know for sure yet!" Heero protested, although hoping that his friends were right. He just didn't want to tell Duo he loved him if Duo didn't love him back; he would be so humiliated. The mere fact that he was falling in love with a ghost was already embarrassing, actually _telling_ him when he didn't feel the same way was just adding to that embarrassment.

"You should tell him anyway," Trowa said quietly, completely ignoring Heero's last comment. Quatre nodded.

"He's right, you should. If Duo doesn't love you back he wouldn't try to kill you, he'd probably apologize and just get over it."

Heero gave him a disbelieving look. "How can you forget that the person you _sleep with _loves you?"

Quatre shrugged. "Maybe he'll decide to sleep elsewhere." He immediately noticed the 'He wouldn't do that, would he!' look on Heero's face before he bowed his head again. Quatre smiled and looked up at Trowa, who gently smiled back.

Heero groaned and shoved his fists into his pockets. "What am I going to do now?"

Quatre smiled sympathetically and suggested, "Maybe you don't have to tell him directly?"

Heero's head snapped up. He looked at Quatre thoughtfully. "I had something that I was going to write down and leave for him to find that would eventually tell him."

"Really? What is it?" Quatre asked, his interest peaked.

"It goes like this," Heero started. "831 - 8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning. I was planning on leaving three pieces of paper around where he would find them, each one with a different part of the riddle."

Quatre nodded. "Interesting, I like it!" Heero gave him a lop-sided smile.

"So you think I should do it?"

"Of course!" Quatre exclaimed. Trowa nodded.

xxx

Duo sighed and stopped. He'd ruin the floor if he kept pacing like that. He sighed again and sat down on the couch. 'What did it mean? Why would Heero be afraid of me... The dream didn't sound _that_ bad. Hm... Maybe he only told me the sidelines, maybe there was more to the dream that made him push me away.' He smiled sadly as he remembered what had happened...

:Flashback:

Duo awoke when he felt cold. He looked down blearily at his uncovered body and blinked. There had been a nice warm comforter there when he'd fallen asleep... His attention was caught by Heero's squirming. When he glanced at him, he realized where the blankets had gone. Heero had entangled himself in the comforter and was twisting around in them like he was in pain.

Duo's tired brain took a moment to start working again and just barely managed to send messages to his muscles so he could wake Heero. Bad dreams were the only explanation for Heero's perspiration and twitching muscles. Duo crawled over to Heero and leaned over his shaking body, resting his hand on the other side of his secret love.

He smiled and gently rubbed Heero's shoulder to wake him. Heero's eyes fluttered but then remained closed. Duo's eyes widened when Heero's middle jerked to one side, he started calling to Heero softly. When Heero's whole body shook in a strange convulsion.

Heero just wouldn't wake up. Duo tried again, calling to him more urgently and shaking his shoulder slightly. He gasped as the convulsions became more and more frequent. He felt a chill crawl up his back and shuddered; this wasn't an ordinary dream, Heero usually woke up more easily than this.

Duo was close to tears. He couldn't wake up his love, and he was in pain. He called again and again, wishing for Heero to hear him and wake up. He smiled with relief as Heero's convulsions calmed suddenly and his eyes fluttered again before they snapped open.

Those sapphire eyes fixed on Duo's amethyst ones instantly and were suddenly wide with surprise. No, not surprise, it was fear. Heero was showing fear. He suddenly yelled "NO!" and shoved Duo as hard as he could off of him and ran out of the room.

Duo lay at the very edge of the bed, his eyes wide with surprise quickly filling with shimmering tears. He rose from the bed as the waterworks spilled, the seemingly incessant tears fell like rain onto his clothes. He sat down in the chair and curled up in it, hugging his knees to his chest. He cried into his knees and regretted making the decision to try to wake Heero that way.

'But why was he afraid?' he asked himself. 'He probably panicked when he saw me so close to him...' He sighed. 'Now I'm _sure_ he hates me...' He sobbed harder at that.

After a while, he controlled himself enough to get up and leave the room.

Then Heero came back...

:End of Flashback:

He frowned when he heard the front door opening. Heero was home but it hadn't seemed like that long since he left. He glanced at the clock and realized that it had been almost 2 hours since Heero had left.

Heero looked into the living room to see if Duo was still there, and smiled when he saw Duo peering over the couch to see him. Duo was a bit confused, Heero didn't usually smile at him like that. Heero walked in and leaned on the back of the couch. He reached down and grabbed "Haunted Heartland". "Do you like the stories?" he asked as he flipped through the pages. Duo nodded.

Heero tossed the book back onto the couch and sighed. "Summer is so boring. There's nothing to do." He shook his head.

Duo blinked. "What do you usually do on summer break?" he asked curiously.

Heero thought for a moment and shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I'm usually out with my friends."

"You _have_ been doing that a lot lately," he said.

Heero gave him a confused look. "Does that bother you?"

Duo's eyes widened. 'Yes, it does bother me,' he thought. 'But I'm not going to tell you that.' "No, it's ok with me," he answered.

Heero raised an eyebrow at Duo's hesitation, then shrugged and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat. Duo frowned and bit his lip. 'I would much prefer you stay here with me... But do whatever makes you happy, Hee-chan.'


	8. The Purple Rose

Rewriting.

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi, Relena bashing.

Duo?  
Chapter 8: The Purple Rose

For the rest of the day, Heero and Duo hung out together talking about random things. Duo actually made Heero laugh, not just the little chuckle here and there, but genuine, long-lasting laughing fits. It made Duo happy to hear that sound since he so rarely heard it on normal days when they spent their time doing other things. Meanwhile, Duo earned himself a few extra smiles when he talked about his life before he had died so unexpectedly.

During their talk, Duo often found his mind wandering off toward his rose idea. When he caught himself thinking about that, he discovered just how close he was to tears and ripped himself away from his depressing thoughts.

xxx

Around four in the afternoon, there was a knock on the front door. Heero glanced over the couch and sighed. He was having so much fun really talking to Duo that he didn't want to be disturbed, even by friends. He opened the door and just barely caught the disgusted sound that emitted from his throat.

Relena...

"Relena, what are you doing here?" he asked, making sure he sounded out each word as though she were stupid. Duo peered over the edge of the couch at the name and tone and arched an eyebrow.

Relena tilted her head to one side and smiled sweetly like she usually did. "Hello, Heero! I just thought I'd come by and visit, see how you're doing," she replied in a repulsively cheery voice. Heero managed to hide a shudder that was creeping up his spine as he looked her over; she had a pink tank top with writing that said "Princess" in darker pink letters. She had a pink skirt that went down to her knees and had little white flowers at the bottom. Her shoes were like high-heeled flip-flops that were also pink with darker pink straps.

His eye twitched and he saw her raise her blonde eyebrows expectantly. He tried to smile but it twisted into a half snarl and he allowed her admittance by stepping to one side and extending his arm. "Welcome to my new home," he said with disdain.

Her blue eyes sparkled as she stepped inside and looked around. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as her eyes landed on the huge chandelier above her head. She turned back and smiled at Heero who had closed the door again and was gazing anxiously into the living room.

"Heero, this is amazing!" she exclaimed and started towards the direction of Heero's intent stare. Heero's eyes widened when Duo failed to disappear as he'd hoped he would. Duo merely lay on the couch and acted as though he were real.

Heero quickly followed Relena and, again, shot an anxious look at Duo that said "Disappear!" Duo raised an eyebrow at him and got up to greet Relena, who was currently exploring the huge, heavily furnished room and hadn't noticed him

"Hello, Relena," Duo said, smiling smugly at Heero. She whirled around and smiled. Duo extended his hand. "I'm Duo."

Relena blinked once. Twice. "Hello, Duo. Um, you're Heero's friend, right?" Duo smiled and nodded. She took the offered hand and her eyes widened but she said nothing and kept her smile on her face. She withdrew her hand as quickly as she could without seeming rude and rubbed it.

Duo turned to Heero. "See ya 'round," he said and climbed the stairs to go to their room.

Heero turned back to Relena who looked an interesting shade of green. She turned her eyes to him and narrowed them suspiciously. "Who is that?" she asked.

Heero blinked.

"I mean, why is he so..." she glanced up at the stairs. "Weird?" She shuddered. Heero's eyes scanned the room and he smiled inwardly.

'Duo's in here, I can feel it,' he thought to himself.

"Heero?" Relena demanded impatiently as she rubbed her hand fiercely. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Relena," he replied calmly.

She scowled and glanced at the stairs again. "I don't like him, he's not human..." she muttered. Heero felt Duo's ki rise a notch. "Tell me the truth, Heero, who is he? Why are these things happening when he talks to me?"

Heero gave her a confused look. "What things?" he asked.

She held up her hand. "He did something! It feels weird, I can't really explain it..." She shook her head and continued rubbing her hand. "But it got cold in my room when Duo talked to me online, and it got really dark. I have no idea why, but I do know that it had something to do with him!" She pointed at the stairs. "Tell me what's going on."

Heero shrugged and sat down on the arm of the couch. "I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, glancing around the room once again. Relena noticed that and turned to look around the room behind her.

"What are you looking for?"

Heero's eyes snapped back to hers. "Nothing." He blinked as Duo appeared behind Relena. The muscles around his mouth twitched as he tried not to laugh at Duo's evil grin. Duo's eyes flicked to Heero's and he held up a finger to his lips in a silent "Shh".

Relena was busy with her hand when Duo tapped her shoulder lightly. She spun around but he had disappeared before she could see him. Heero bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

Relena turned back to Heero and hissed, "What was that?"

Heero tilted his head to one side. "What?" Relena fumed, but calmed quickly. She smiled and walked over to sit on the couch. Heero turned so he was facing her. He put his socked feet on the couch and draped his arms over his knees.

She smiled at him. "I really like your house," she said sweetly.

Heero's face remained expressionless as he gazed around the room. "Hn, it's too big."

"I think it's fine; big houses are fun!" Heero glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Fun to get lost in," he said bitterly. "Fun to play Hide-and-Seek in perhaps, but not fun for fo-three people to live in alone." He forgot about Duo being a ghost and not really a part of the family and almost said "four".

Relena's eyes narrowed again. "Were you going to say "four"?" she asked quietly.

Heero blinked and shook his head.

She stood up abruptly. "You're lying to me, Heero Yuy!" she hissed with a cautious glance at the staircase. She swallowed hard and sat down slowly. "Don't think I can't tell."

Heero shrugged. "Ok, whatever."

Relena glared at him, but then regained her sweet smile again. "I missed you anyway," she said softly. Duo's ki spiked, then his presence disappeared altogether. Heero raised an eyebrow. She looked down and bit her lip. She opened her mouth to say something else when she looked up and saw Duo sliding down the railing of the staircase with his hand behind his back.

Heero looked back and saw Duo. He turned around on the arm of the couch and noticed Duo's strange glare at Relena. It confused him, that wasn't a normal glare, that was more like... competitive? Heero gave him a confused look as he approached.

Relena stood up and gripped Heero's arm protectively. There went Duo's ki again.

Duo turned his eyes to Heero's and said, "I've been meaning to give you something." He brought his hand out from behind his back, gripped gently in his fingertips was a purple rose. 


	9. Prick My Finger, Make it Bleed

Rewriting still. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 9: Prick my Finger, Make it Bleed

Relena gasped and made a small squeaking noise as she stood there grasping Heero's arm. The squeak came again - higher pitched as Duo took Heero's free hand and slipped the rose between his fingers.

Once Heero held the rose safely, Duo stepped away from him and quirked an eyebrow at Relena. Her jaw dropped and Duo returned upstairs once again.

"What was that!" she screeched.

Heero blinked. "What just happened?" he asked quietly.

Relena snatched the rose from his hand impatiently and waved it in front of his face. "This!" Heero extended his hand as the rose dropped from Relena's fingers.

He winced as a thorn bit into his palm. He gazed at the small dot of blood with a strange expression. Relena's tapping foot made him look up.

"Well!" she demanded.

Heero shook his head. "I don't know."

Relena growled and glared at the staircase. "Ooh, that boy!"

Something snapped inside Heero. "What's wrong with him?"

Relena blinked at him. Her eyes widened. "You're defending him?" she asked venemously.

Heero thought for a moment. "Yeah, I am," he answered. He looked down at his hand again as a powerful tingling sensation started from the tiny wound and bloomed in all directions. He felt the something spread down through his arm and into his body.

He shuddered. He could feel it pulsing as it ran through his body. The something was also cold, it felt so strange as the cool, pulsing thing flowed into his head.

He pressed a palm to his forehead and sat down. The tingling feeling made him sigh. He suddenly became very weary and asked Relena to leave.

"Heero," she said gently. "You don't look well, I'm staying until your parents come home." She smiled somewhat sadly and went into the kitchen.

Heero sighed again. He would have preferred to have slept in his bed, but his body felt too tired to take him upstairs. He leaned back against the couch and immediately fell asleep.

Relena returned with a glass of water and smiled when she saw Heero's sleeping form. She set the glass down on the table in front of the couch and moved him so he was lying down with his feet up.

Duo stood at the top of the stairs and clenched his fists when Relena sat down in a chair and just sat there watching Heero. He snarled and growled deep in his chest, giving Relena a disgusted look. He walked down the stairs slowly, and when he reached the bottom, he disappeared. He then walked to Heero's side and searched for the rose.

He spotted it grasped in Heero's fingertips. He smiled and looked past the rose and saw the small cut. He tilted his head and glanced at Relena who had found "Haunted Heartland" and was reading.

He smiled down at Heero and kneeled. He kissed two of his fingertips and slipped them inside Heero's partially closed hand and placed it over the cut. Heero sighed in his sleep, making Duo smile. His eyes widened when Heero's fingers suddenly closed completely - and tightly - around his.

He gently tried to pry Heero's fingers apart, but to no avail. He soon gave up the fight for his fingers and rested his head on the couch in front of Heero and watched him sleep.

All three of them stayed in these positions for about 20 minutes when Heero suddenly opened his eyes.

"Duo?" he said, sitting up abruptly. Duo jerked his fingers out of Heero's loosened hold and fled.

Heero's eyes scanned the room quickly and appeared not to notice Relena's surprised expression. He lowered his eyes to his hand. It had stopped bleeding long ago and still felt strange.

He thought about the feeling that Duo was in the room when he awoke and suddenly felt a wave of that powerful tingling all through his body. It calmed him greatly and he relaxed.

He looked at Relena and the tingling stopped. He wondered how long he'd been asleep. He looked at the clock and saw that it was about 20 minutes after Duo had given him the rose and he'd gotten pricked. "I feel like I'm in a fairy tale," he said thoughtfully. "I was pricked by a thorn and I fell asleep... How strange." He looked at the rose that was still in his hand.

Relena nodded. "Why did you call for Duo when you woke up just now?" she asked curiously. Heero gave her a confused look. She didn't seem so hostile towards Duo now, she didn't scowl at the name or anything as he'd expected her to.

"I-I..." he thought for an excuse other than he sensed him. "I don't know, I guess I just..." he trailed off and shook his head.

Relena raised an eyebrow. "I think I figured it out, Heero," she said. He looked up with a questioning expression. She smiled sadly. "Duo's not real." Heero's eyes widened. "He's a ghost, I could feel him too, I could tell he was with you earlier, but when you woke up it vanished." She looked down.

Heero blinked. "How could you know that?" he whispered. He thought he was the only one who could sense Duo's presence.

She bit her lip. "It's obvious. These weird things that happened to me, the tapping on my shoulder." She shook her head. "You can't hide something like that, Heero," she whispered and looked up.

Heero felt a pang in his stomach. Relena's eyes were filled with tears, her bottom lip was quivering. He'd never made a girl cry before, and he didn't like what effect it had on him just now. Relena _had_ been his childhood friend and up through middle school when she decided she liked him more than that.

She made an attempt to smile and a tear from each of her eyes fell. Heero's stomach wrenched again. He really didn't want her to cry, even if he didn't like her all that much, she was his friend through all his troubles and she didn't deserve to cry on his account.

She looked down again and more tears fell. "I understand that he loves you, and doesn't want me to take you away from him." She sniffed. "I understand how he feels and I'm sure that you have feelings f-for h-him, t-too." She started getting the hiccups near the end of her sentence. She swallowed hard and took the glass of water from the table.

After taking a gulp, she looked up. Oh, how she loved him so. She set the glass down and rose from her chair. "I'll go now," she said and walked toward the front door. Heero set down the rose on the table and quickly went after her.

"Wait! Relena!" He saw her shake her head as she opened the door. "Please?" That caught her attention and she stopped. She'd always had a weak spot for Heero's pleads. She turned her eyes to him. He came up to her and closed the door. "You don't have to be like this," he said gently, putting his arm around her shoulders and leading her back to the couch.

They sat down and he took her hand. "Relena, you have always been my friend, ever since we were two. But I can't return your feelings." She looked up into his eyes filled with sympathy and care. She turned away again.

"But you have to know that I do still care for you, you're like a sister to me. And I wouldn't want to be any closer than that." He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him. "Do you understand?"

She sniffed and nodded.

"I want you to know that I do love you, just more as a sister. We were very nearly siblings, we've been friends for almost all our lives, and I never had any other friends," he pointed out.

She swallowed and nodded again. "I understand that you care for Duo but I guess I just got jealous. I'm sorry." She stood up and turned around. "I'll keep in touch," her voice was a bit lighter. "Be sure to tell Duo that I'm sorry." She smiled and bent down and kissed him lightly on his right cheek.

She stood up again and smiled. On her way to the front door, she spotted Duo at the top of the stairs. He looked dumbfounded and she wondered how long he'd been standing there. She smiled at him and walked out the door, closing it behind her.

Heero sat as she left him. He blinked and looked around, as though he'd been in a trance. He stood up and, grabbing the purple rose, walked into the kitchen. He knew Duo was somewhere close by, but he didn't think that he would come too close to him just yet.

He sat down and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the cup on the table. He thought for a moment then started writing:

831

8 letters...

He folded up the piece of paper and went upstairs, taking the rose and a vase filled with water with him. As he went further down the hall, Duo's presence seemed to drift farther away. He looked around his room and wondered where would be a good place to put it. He shrugged and set it on the pillow Duo usually slept on.

He had decided to give the riddle to him when he heard Relena's confident words that Duo loved him. He set the rose on his desk in the vase of water. He then went back downstairs and out the front door.

He inhaled deeply and walked down the street, the opposite way of the park.

xxx

Duo ambled down the stairs from the third floor as the door shut. He frowned and looked down the hall toward Heero's bedroom. He tilted his head curiously and started walking towards it. He immediately spotted the purple rose on the desk. He smiled and approached the beautiful flower.

He noticed one of the thorns had blood on the tip. 'That must've been the one that got Heero's hand,' he thought. Just then, something came to his mind, he didn't know if he could bleed. He assumed he couldn't because he IS already dead and a ghost, but he experimented anyway.

He took the stem of the rose in one hand to hold it steady while he pressed his finger to the same one that Heero's blood had stained. He winced a bit, he had felt it. He blinked and stared at his finger. It soon gathered a small dot of crimson blood at the tip. He blinked and it seemed to reverse itself; the blood flowed back into his finger, and the wound sealed itself.

He touched the spot where it had been and sighed. He inspected the rose thorn closely and saw that it had his blood on it as well. Wondering how that could be possible, he went and sat on the bed. It was then that he noticed the piece of neatly folded paper set on his pillow.

He timidly took it and unfolded it. In blue pen, it read:

831

8 letters...

He read over it again and pursed his lips in thought. What could it mean? Why was there a '...' at the end? Could there be more? He sighed and pocketed the piece of paper.

He suddenly thought of Heero, sending a strange heat through his body. He felt it and was immediately filled with an unfamiliar passion. He fought for control of this alien "possesion" so to speak.

He kept thinking of Heero though, it seemed to be a fuel for the heat flowing through his entire body. He held his head in his hands and clenched his teeth. 'I don't get it! What's wrong with me!' Those words tumbled around in his brain before he was overcome by this feeling of passion.

He stood up and looked around. He grinned and took the note out of his pocket and read it again. "Heero," he said, his eyes glittering mischievously. His voice was much deeper and his eyes were a more silvery-violet.

His gaze shifted to the desk and his rose. One corner of his mouth turned up in a half-grin and he reached out and stroked one of the purple petals. "Heero," he said again.

Just then, he heard the door open and the heat stopped. Duo shook his head and wondered how he ended up by the desk. He heard the front door close and ran out into the hall. He saw the heel of Heero's foot going into the kitchen and slid down the railing. He felt happy and wasn't ashamed of his love for Heero, although he was still going to do the rest of the rose thing.

"Hello, Heero!" he said cheerily.

Heero turned away from the refrigerator with an apple stuffed in his mouth. Duo laughed. Heero took it out and smiled sheepishly. "Hi, Duo."

Duo sighed. "So did you get everything worked out with Relena?" he asked. Heero nodded and decided not to mention the rose thing. And Duo the same with the note.

Duo yawned. "I'm tired, I'm goin' to bed," he said and left the kitchen, raising his arm in a goodbye.

"Night, Duo!" Heero called and sat down.

Duo reached their room and turned off the light. He yawned again and drew back the covers and got in. He fell asleep pondering about the strange experience he'd had earlier when he thought about Heero. 'I didn't _just_ think about Heero,' he thought to himself. 'I thought about... us.'

Heero went upstairs about half an hour later and found Duo fast asleep. He smiled and got into bed too. He dozed off while wondering about the tingling feeling that came whenever he thought of Duo.


	10. The Second Piece of the Puzzle

Rewriting. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi, Dream sequence in italics.

Duo?  
Chapter 10: The Second Piece of the Puzzle

_Duo held Heero's head to his chest in an embrace and smiled as Heero wrapped his arms around his waist. Heero sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, listening to Duo's steady breathing. They opened again when he didn't hear a heartbeat._

_"Duo?" he murmured._

_Duo smiled again. "Yes, love?"_

_Heero looked up with sadness showing plainly in his eyes. "Why don't you have a heartbeat?" he asked. He thought that hearing a heartbeat when in a relationship was important for some reason._

_Duo's gentle smile turned to one of sympathy. "I'm not real," he said. Heero's eyes widened much like a child's do when a favourite pet dies. "I'm a ghost, I've no need for a heartbeat," he explained._

_Heero nodded. "That makes sense. But then why do you breathe?"_

_Duo shrugged. "Just a habit, I guess," he replied and chuckled. He kissed the top of Heero's head and sighed._

_"Duo, I'm afraid," Heero whispered and squeezed him._

_"Of what, Heero?"_

_"Of loving a ghost."_

_Duo squeezed him back in a comforting gesture. "Don't be afraid of love, even if the one you love is a ghost."_

_"But you're -"_

_"Dead, yes, but know this: Death cannot stop true love," (1) Duo said and Heero buried his face into his shirt..._

Heero's eyelids lifted. He immediately saw Duo's face, eyes closed peacefully. He smiled at Duo's beautiful heart shaped face and realized that they were still in bed, both on their sides facing one another. His eyes flicked around the room and he saw by the amount of light in the room that the sun was barely above the horizon.

He looked back to Duo and thought about his dream. He hadn't gotten to tell Duo that he loved him, even though he already knew, he'd still wanted to tell him. He glanced at where Duo's heart would be or _was_, for all he knew. He wondered if he did have a heartbeat.

The dream ran over again through his mind and he wondered why this dream was so realistic just as the other one with Duo in it had been. He timidly reached out to touch Duo's cheek when his eyelids fluttered. He pulled back quickly and pretended to be asleep, doing the best he could to make his breathing shallow and even.

Duo opened his eyes and blinked. 'Why is Heero pretending to be asleep?' he asked himself. 'Maybe he's just trying to get _back_ to sleep.' He nodded inwardly and got out of bed. There wasn't really much point in trying to get back to sleep when he had a rose presentation to plan and morning was only about half an hour away.

Heero opened his eyes when he felt that Duo wasn't in the room anymore. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes. He looked up at the rose on the desk. It hadn't changed since last night, but it wouldn't have changed noticeably in such a short time anyway.

He gazed at the ceiling and wondered what he was going to do today; it's so boring without school, and he didn't know where everything was yet.

He thought about the second part of the note "trilogy" and where he would leave it. The dream had given him much more confidence and he wasn't going to let Duo's death stop him from loving him. He suddenly felt a wave of the cool, pulsing sensation flow through his body and closed his eyes.

xxx

Heero had fallen into a doze state whilst thinking about the note and Duo. He awoke again when the sunlight got too bright. He sighed and swung his feet out from under the covers. He went to the desk and grabbed a blue pen and a piece of printer paper and wrote:

3 words...

He rubbed his eye with one hand and folded the paper with the other. He looked around and leaned the note against the vase with the purple rose in it.

After getting dressed, Heero left his room and went to find Duo; he had a few questions for him. He didn't have to look far, as Duo was standing at the front door, bent over and looking out one of the side windows. Heero went down the stairs and said, "Hi, Duo."

"Hello, Heero," Duo replied, although his mind was obviously elsewhere; he hadn't turned around or even called Heero by his nickname.

"What're you looking for?" Heero asked and came to stand behind Duo.

Duo straightened up, but kept his eyes on the window. "Oh, nothing," he said slowly. He turned to Heero and smiled brightly, who was looking at the window with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged. "Can I ask you a few things? About death?" he asked, looking into Duo's eyes.

Duo blinked and nodded. He followed Heero as he turned and went into the living room. Heero sat in the chair that Relena had been in the previous day. Duo sat on the couch with his legs crossed and his elbows resting on his knees.

Heero watched his eyes as he asked the first question, "Weren't you supposed to go to "heaven" or something after you died?"

Duo looked up thoughtfully. "I don't know... I suppose. I never really thought about it before, but I think I stayed back on earth for a good reason. I don't know that reason, but I'm sure it's good," he smiled.

Heero chuckled. "Do you have a heartbeat? I know you wouldn't really need one, but..." He shrugged.

Duo put a hand over his chest where his heart should be and tilted his head. He took his hand off and shook his head. "Nope, I don't feel one." He put two fingers on his neck and shook his head again. "You're right, I wouldn't really have any use for it," he said.

"What happened when you died? Like did your life "flash before your eyes" or anything like that?"

Duo thought for a moment. "Not really, it was more like I was reliving it backwards." (2)

Heero arched an eyebrow. "Backwards?"

Duo nodded. "Yeah, it was really strange..." He shook his head.

"Can you float? You've always walked since I've met you, and I always thought that ghosts would float, not walk."

Duo shook his head again. "Nope, I can't. Or if it's possible, I don't know how to." He shrugged.

Heero nodded and continued, "Can you travel anywhere outside of this house?"

Duo shook his head. "Huh-uh, I can't even go into the backyard," he said and scowled.

"Is it like that with everyone? They can't leave the place where they died?"

"I think it's more like they can't leave where they lived, if they stay back here on earth, that is," he explained. He started playing with the end of his braid.

Heero nodded. "Ok, what happens if you try to go outside?"

Duo grinned. "When I try to leave the house, I end up back in my room where I died."

Heero had no idea why he thought that was funny, but he went on anyway, "Are those the clothes you died in? Or can you change clothes?"

"Naw, I died in bed, I was in my PJs." He chuckled. "I can change into whatever I want, as long as it was mine," he informed him.

"Um, do you dream?" he asked a little hesitantly.

Duo nodded. "Yep, still dream," he said happily. "Anything else?"

Heero thought for a while, then nodded. "Do you feel things? Like pain or cold or heat?"

Duo's eyes widened for a split second when he thought about the results that happened when he thought intimately about Heero. He swallowed hard. "Yes, I do... feel," he said slowly as though picking his words carefully.

Heero blinked at Duo's strange reaction. "Um, I think that's all I wanted to know, thanks Duo, that was really helpful," he said. Duo smiled and left.

Heero sat there for a while longer and thought about the first dream he had with Duo in it. He looked toward the hallway he'd gone through and wondered if the room he was in with Duo at the end really existed.

He rose slowly and walked toward the closed door. He went through it and saw a long hallway with three doors on the left side and four on the right. 'Woah, huge house,' Heero thought as he went through the third door on the right side, the one that had flung open for him.

He came to a large room that would make a good ballroom and looked around. He flipped a switch on his left and little lights all around the walls came on, illuminating the room. He saw two doors, one in the wall across from him, the other on the left wall.

He walked slowly across the room to the door across from him, half expecting it to swing open for him like it did in the dream. He went into the room and flipped on another switch to his left. The single lightbulb in the center of the ceiling lit up the small room and he realized immediately that this was a very dusty, unused bathroom.

He didn't remember any of the actual rooms, but he remembered the door that led out of the bathroom. So he went through it. This next room was already illuminated by a large window with no curtains or shades. 'What were they thinking when they built this house?' he wondered. 'What would they do with so many rooms?' He shook his head and continued to the door in the right wall, the only other door out of the room.

He reached for the handle and stopped. He swallowed hard. This was the last one, he realized that the dream had been exaggerated and there weren't really that many doors to go through, but this was the last one.

He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice Duo's presence following him. Duo peeked into the room and spied Heero to his right, hesitating at the door in front of him. Heero drew in a shaky breath, turned the handle, and pushed the door. The room was pitch black and Heero felt for a light switch on the left side of the door.

Finding none, he wondered what to do now. Running from the room, right past Duo's unnoticed presence, he left all the doors open as he raced through the rooms.

Duo shot a confused look after Heero and looked down at the rose in his hand. The red one. He'd been carrying it while following Heero, just in case he found a good time to give it to him. He looked at the room and entered it. He groped the opposite wall for a switch and found one. Heero just hadn't looked on the other side of the door.

It was a small room. Probably used for storage or something, but it was empty at the moment. He heard Heero coming back and assumed he'd gone to get a flashlight. His face lit up. This was the perfect place to leave the rose for him to find! He quickly placed it in the middle of the floor and flipped off the light.

He ran out of the room just as Heero came running through the door with a flashlight in hand. 'Ha! I'm so good,' Duo thought with a smile. He watched Heero go into the room and flip on the flashlight. He searched the walls for a light switch and found it.

He turned on the light and his eyes were immediately drawn to the large, red rose in the center of the floor. He turned the flashlight off and walked slowly towards it. He looked around and bent to pick it up. He gripped one petal gently between his fingers and whispered, "Duo..."

Duo smiled and left Heero to his thoughts. He emerged into the living room and sighed. He went upstairs and wandered down the hall and into their room. He tilted his head to one side when he realized that he really didn't know what he was doing here.

He looked around and spotted the piece of paper that leaned against the vase that the rose was in. He went to it and opened it.

'3 words...'

XXXXX

1: A line lovingly borrowed from "Princess Bride".

2: This was actually from the book What Dreams May Come, he said that's what happened when people die.


	11. Two and Two is Four

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Duo?  
Chapter 11: Two and Two is Four

Duo hastily refolded the note and dropped it on the desk. He sat down hard on the floor at the end of the bed and covered his face with his hands. He knew what would happen if he thought about Heero that way.

He bit his finger and shut his eyes tight. He felt the heat start to take over him again and bit harder. He tried to focus his mind on the pain in his finger, and it was working until he heard footsteps on the stairs. His mind went right back to Heero and the heat started again.

He scrambled up off the floor and disappeared through the wall. He knew if he were near Heero when he lost control, something bad was bound to happen. Although if he did lose control, his "other side" would probably go to Heero anyway, so it really didn't matter.

Heero walked into his bedroom and put the red rose into the vase with the purple one. He sat down at the end of the bed and looked at the roses, thinking. What did it mean? And what was with the feeling that came when he thought about Duo since he got that cut from the first rose?

He knew for a fact that Duo was behind all this, but he just couldn't figure out _why_. He sighed and lay back with his hands behind his head.

Meanwhile, Duo was inching ever closer to Heero's bedroom as he lost control. Heero looked up when he felt Duo's presence enter the room. Not seeing anything, he sat up and quirked an eyebrow at the seemingly empty room.

Duo suddenly appeared in front of him. But he looked different than the Duo he was used to. He tried to speak, but he felt frozen. He swallowed hard and managed to start to push himself up off the bed.

Duo's strange eyes gleamed. He was already standing close to Heero, and when he got to his feet, his nose was about four inches away from Duo's. Duo grinned before quickly closing the small gap between them, pressing his lips to Heero's.

Heero tried to pull back, but ended up sitting on the bed, Duo closely following, never breaking away from Heero. Panicking, Heero started to back up even more. He felt he needed to get away from Duo, but at the same time, he didn't want to. He felt the wood of the bedstead on his back and realized that his eyes had been closed. He opened them when he couldn't back up any farther.

Duo broke off from the kiss and looked into Heero's eyes. Heero was breathing heavily but silently as he returned Duo's gaze. Heero swallowed. "Duo..." His tone sounded so strange, he hadn't meant for it to sound like that.

Duo smiled and gently cupped Heero's cheek in his hand. Heero gripped Duo's wrist and looked down. Duo's eyes gleamed again and he leaned in for another kiss.

He pulled back again and shifted. Once he was settled the way he wanted, he pulled Heero onto his lap. Heero leaned his head against Duo's shoulder as Duo wrapped his arms around his waist.

"I'm going too fast?" Duo asked quietly.

Heero noticed how much deeper Duo's voice was now. He didn't respond.

Duo nodded. "I'm sorry." He squeezed Heero once and sighed...

Then Heero woke up.

He sat up and looked around. He was still in his room, but he had fallen asleep and nothing had happened. Nothing...

He rubbed his eyes and stood up. Turning around to look at the bed, he thought, 'But it felt so real. The other dreams with Duo in them felt real, but this one exceeded them all by far.'

He shook his head and left the room. He stopped as he spotted Duo sitting in the hall, looking sulky and sad.

"Hey, Duo," Heero said as he came closer.

Duo's head snapped up in surprise. "Oh, hey Heero," he replied blandly.

Heero crouched next to him. "What's the matter?"

Duo hesitated. He thought about his answer... He had gone into Heero's room while he was sleeping and had taken his chances and kissed him. He felt so bad about taking advantage of Heero while he was asleep and had a heavy feeling in his chest and stomach from the guilt his kiss had caused him.

"Duo?" Heero was worried, Duo didn't usually act like this.

Duo shook his head. "Nothing, I just... I don't know." He sighed and disappeared. Heero felt Duo's presence fade slowly and he shook his head. Then he quickly went back into his room.

He looked at the vase and noticed that the note was not where he'd left it. It had been sloppily refolded, and set on the desk. He sighed and went downstairs.

He started walking in no particular direction, letting his feet take him anywhere they wished. He walked around the staircase and through the door next to it. He then turned his eyes to his feet and kept going.

Recognizing the floor of this room, he suddenly knew where he was going, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be there. But his feet led him on. He didn't bother to turn on lights, he wasn't afraid of the dark and he knew the way well enough not to bump into things, considering that they hadn't put anything here to bump into.

He sighed and looked up as his feet stopped. The door was closed, but this room was lit better than the others since it had one huge window covering almost an entire wall.

He opened the door and turned the light on. He'd turned on this one because he had somewhat of a phobia of this room when it was dark. It looked so empty and harmless, but he shuddered when he thought about his dream.

Sitting down in the middle of the floor, he began to think. About the roses, the dreams, and just Duo in general. He eventually wondered why Duo was giving him the roses. He thought about what the reason would be if he were Duo. He remembered the places where he received each rose and what the situation was at the time.

The purple rose had seemed, at the time, like a jealousy gesture. But the second one he had found here, where he was sitting. They didn't connect in the least. Duo had no idea about his dream and therefore couldn't have planned the placement of the rose here on purpose.

He suddenly remembered something. When he had gone to get the flashlight, he was sure that Duo was somewhere nearby, but decided not to pay attention to it since Duo was always in the house and he could feel his presence at all times, no matter how faint it was. He remembered the light from the previous room entering this one, and it had definitely gone past the center of the floor where the rose had been and it wasn't there at that time. So he figured that Duo had put it there when he was gone getting the flashlight.

Then the reason for the roses came up again. Heero once again placed himself in Duo's shoes and thought about it again. Colors suddenly popped into his head. The purple rose had instantly reminded him of Duo's eyes.

'And a red rose means...'

He blinked. That couldn't be it. But then again, it made sense; the competitive looks aimed at Relena when she'd clung to his arm so protectively, and Duo's hesitation that time when Heero asked if being with Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei so often had bothered him. Those were the two main reasons for his thinking Duo loved him.

But then why the dreams? The first one had been so real that he was sure Duo hated him. The second one felt very real too, but it had been much shorter and much calmer. It seemed like that dream existed to reassure him that Duo didn't hate him, but loved him.

And the third dream. That had felt so real that had he not woken up in the same position he'd fallen asleep in, he'd probably not have had the courage to talk to Duo in the hall.

And that was another thing, what was wrong with Duo? The way he acted definitely made Heero wonder again if the dream had been real. Duo had sounded a little guilty at the end of the dream, and in the hall he'd given the indication that that's how he felt.

'If I know it was a dream, then why did Duo act like something bad had happened when I talked to him in the hall?' he wondered.

It was almost as if _that_ dream existed to let Heero know how Duo felt about their relationship if they ever had one like that.

He sighed. He'd only been here for a little less than a week and already he had problems he had to sit alone and think about. He rubbed his eyes with a thumb and forefinger; he was getting a headache.

If Duo was telling Heero that he loved him with the roses, then there was probably more parts to come. If the purple one represented Duo, and the red one represented love, then there had to be at least one more to complete the three small words that he was also subtly telling Duo.

He then wondered if Duo had figured it out yet. The riddle would probably confuse anyone but the creator. Then again, he hadn't thought himself smart enough at the time to make up a riddle good enough that by reading the first part wouldn't give the whole thing away. But when it was complete, the reader would instantly understand.

But was he waiting too long to give him the third piece? Maybe Duo had already figured it out. He looked at his watch. It was only about 5, so he decided that tonight would be the time for the third and final piece.


	12. Duo's Death

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi, angst

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Duo?  
Chapter 12: Duo's Death

Heero heard the clock downstairs chime 9 o'clock and stopped pacing. He took a deep breath. 'It's now or never...'

He grabbed the third note and left his room. He shoved it into his pocket and went into the kitchen where Duo sat with a small book open in front of him. He ran his hands through his hair that remained unbraided. He put his head down on his arms and released a shaky sigh.

Heero bit his lip. Maybe this was a bad time. He went into the living room and leaned on the back of the couch. What could possibly cause Duo to seem so upset? He heard the legs of the chair scratching on the tiled floor and turned around to see Duo turning up to the stairs. Heero's eyes widened. Duo's long bangs covered his eyes but he could plainly see the tears streaming silently down his cheeks.

Duo hadn't seen Heero standing there and went up the stairs. Heero waited a moment before walking quickly to the bottom of the staircase in time to see Duo climbing the second set of stairs to the third floor before disappearing from sight. Heero looked into the kitchen to see if the book was still there. It was.

He picked it up and turned it over. The outside covers had no words indicating what it was, they were just a plain dark brown color that felt like very soft leather. In the front cover a tree was etched into the leather. The branches had no leaves, but looked old and scraggy. He ran a thumb over the thick trunk of the tree and sighed. It was so depressing.

He opened the book to a random page and realized immediately what it was; a diary. He went to the first page and started reading:

_Dear Diary,_

_It is summer now, and I have discovered that I am unable to bear children. My husband was heartbroken; he had dearly hoped for a son. As did I. I have always wanted a family, ever since I was old enough to understand it._

_My mother was always the one to reassure me that if I wanted something bad enough, that my wishes would come true. I suppose that would be impossible now. I haven't told her yet, but I plan to tomorrow._

_Up until now, our marriage has gone perfectly. Hikou is my loving husband and we have only been married for a few months. I had told him that I would give him anything he wished for, but I see now that I cannot fulfil that promise. But still, I think adoption would be a good idea now. I can only hope that Hikou agrees._

_Until next time,  
Rumiko_

Heero sat down and turned a few pages.

_Dear Diary,_

_Hikou willingly agreed to adoption. When we brought our new child to my mother, she was overjoyed._

Heero gasped. Duo never told him he was adopted! He shook his head in wonder and kept reading.

_Duo is wonderful, he's so cute! I don't know why his mother would want to give him up. But I guess that doesn't matter anymore. What matters now is that he is our son. I loved him instantly. His bright violet eyes just drew me in, I feel as though I could drown in them. He's such a perfect angel. He is very quiet and loves to look out the window._

_He also watches Hikou with great interest. I have yet to figure out why, but he seems to expect something whenever he enters the room. I hope that he'll accept the fact that he's adopted when we tell him. We plan to tell him when he's a little older, though._

_Until next time,  
Rumiko_

Heero turned the next few pages and read another entry:

_Dear Diary,_

_Duo is getting more and more creative each day. Today he discovered the lock on his playpen. Hikou has just gone out to get a new one that he can't undo. He's very amusing, when he got out of his playpen, he went right to Hikou and crawled into his lap. It was adorable! Hikou seems really taken to Duo as well._

Heero stopped and scanned the page. It was filled with things that Duo had done up until then and just how adorable it was. He flipped through the pages until something caught his eye. This entry was much shorter and the writing seemed hurried.

_Dear Diary,_

_I have a suspicion that Hikou has a mistress. He's been going out early and coming home later than usual during the past few weeks. I was doing laundry the other day with Duo when I noticed the strange smell of perfume on Hikou's clothes. I've been keeping to myself lately though, as does Hikou._

_We celebrated Duo's second birthday last week and I noticed a young girl talking to Hikou. I think she's the one that Hikou has been seeing. I hear him coming in now._

_Until next time,  
Rumiko_

Wondering if this is what had made Duo so upset, Heero flipped through the pages again, until he saw another style of handwriting. One much different than Duo's foster mother's.

_I see Hikou's first wife has left something behind. A dairy, how odd. She has moved out now, but she left this in a drawer in the basement. Hikou has obviously made the right decision to divorce her._

Heero's jaw dropped. This was awful! How could he do something like that?

_Hikou has sworn to allow her to see Duo whenever she pleases, but I really would prefer she take him. He's a nuisance. I never really liked children. Oh well, I guess I'll just deal with him when he's older._

_As Rumiko would've said: Until next time,  
Fuka_

'Fuka, huh?' Heero thought, 'I guess Duo never knew that he had a different mother.'

He turned to the most recent entry.

_Fuka here,_

_Duo is 16 today and he's more annoying than ever! I don't expect this annoyance to last for much longer though. In a few days, Hikou will also be rid of that long-haired freak. I expect he would cry if I called him that to his face!_

_Anyway, Hikou and I will walk into Duo's room when he doesn't come downstairs in the morning, only to find that he's mysteriously died during the night. I don't want to upset Hikou, but I think it's for the best. Duo would probably go crazy if he found out that he was adopted anyway. I think Hikou told Duo that Rumiko was my sister or something, because he treats her like family when she comes over to visit._

_She seems happy enough with that, although she acts as though I don't exist. I can't exactly say I blame her, but still. Hikou is mine now and has been for many years. She seems to have gotten over it, and I see she is remarried. I find myself wondering if she adopted again._

_I am going to poison Duo before he goes to bed in a few days, it will be almost immediately effective. Giving it more time to get out of his system during the night. I will not be caught._

_I wonder how Rumiko will act when she realizes that her son has so "mysteriously" died during the night. She'll probably cry. I'll cry too, or at least pretend to, just to clear my name. I'll just about go crazy with grief. To throw them off. Burning this diary seems like a good idea, too._

_Fuka_

Heero was shocked. He stood up and scowled at the entry. She must have forgotten to get rid of it after she wrote it. He shut the book and went upstairs to find Duo. He didn't care about anything anymore, he just knew that Duo needed comfort, and he was going to give it to him.

He got to the third floor and looked around. Duo's presence was stronger when he stepped to the right. He peered around the doorframe to find Duo sitting in a corner, hugging his knees to his chest with his head bowed down. He started towards him and stopped when Duo suddenly looked up.

He swallowed hard. "Duo, I know about your parents," he said softly, taking another step forward.

Duo rubbed his eye and smiled. "Oh, did I leave that in the kitchen?" he asked, trying to sound like his usual self.

Heero reached Duo and sat down next to him. He shook his head. "Duo, you don't need to pretend." He sighed. "I can't say I know how much that hurt you, because I don't. But I can say for sure that I am always here for you, no matter what. And I know you're in pain right now, I saw you crying when you came up here." Duo looked down as more tears welled in his eyes. Heero continued, "I'll try to help ease that pain in any way that I can."

He put his arm around Duo's shoulders. "And if you need a shoulder to cry on, please come to me," he whispered.

Duo looked into Heero's eyes as more tears flowed down his cheeks. He then threw himself at Heero, sobbing into his shirt. "Heero!" he cried. Heero ran his fingers through Duo's long hair and put his other arm around him in an embrace. He felt Duo grip the front of his shirt with both hands and smiled.

Neither of them knew exactly how long they'd been like this, but Duo finally pulled away from Heero, one of his arms still around his shoulders. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, avoiding Heero's eyes.

Heero smiled. "Don't be." Duo looked at his hands in his lap and sniffed. Heero looked at his watch. "It's already 10, maybe you should go to bed. I know crying makes people tired." He stood up and offered his hand. "Come on, I'll go too." Duo blinked up at Heero's smile and took his hand. Heero pulled him up and put that arm around Duo's shoulders.

Duo let Heero steer him down the stairs and into their room. "I'll be right back," he said and left. Duo sat down on the bed and started braiding his hair.

'Heero's so sweet, no wonder I love him so much,' he thought with a smile.

Heero walked in as Duo tied off his braid. He set the diary he'd gone to get on his desk and made a circular motion with his finger, indicating that Duo turn around. He did and Heero changed into his dry bedshirt and shorts and tapped Duo on the shoulder.

Duo nodded at Heero's change of clothes and got into his side of the bed as Heero turned out the light. He saw Heero's shadowy figure getting into bed beside him. Heero closed his eyes.

Duo smiled. "Thank you, Heero."

Heero opened his eyes again and smiled at Duo. "Anything for you, Duo," he replied. He didn't really care if Duo took that as an "I love you and would die for you" kind of thing, because it was.


	13. Mother Dear

Rewriting. 

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Duo?  
Chapter 13: Mother Dear

"Did you get her last name?" Heero asked Duo the next morning. Heero was determined to prove that Fuka had murdered Duo.

Duo thought for a moment. "Um, I know she got remarried, Hikou did tell me that she was Fuka's sister." It seemed odd to Heero that Duo should refer to his father by his first name, even if he was a foster father. "I'm pretty sure she said it was Sugiyama." Heero nodded.

"So if we can find Rumiko, maybe she can help me prove Fuka murdered you," he said thoughtfully.

Duo sighed. "I hope so."

xxx

I'll be back soon," Heero said, snatching up the keys to his father's car.

Duo blinked. "How'd you find her so fast?"

Heero shrugged. "I looked her up." He nodded towards the phonebook that still lay on the kitchen table. Duo's lips formed a silent "oh".

"See ya later!" Duo said cheerily.

"Later," Heero replied quietly and left.

xxx

Later, Heero arrived in a small neighbourhood. He had to drive extremely slowly so the kids playing in the street knew he was coming.

He parked in front of the house whose address he had written down on the paper in his hand. He smiled at the two kids in the front yard as he passed them. He knocked on the door and waited.

A boy maybe a year or two younger than him answered the door. He raised an eyebrow. "May I help you?" he asked coolly.

"Is this the Sugiyama residence?" Heero asked. The boy nodded. "Is Rumiko available?"

He sighed. "Yeah, hang on." He turned and called up the stairs, "Mom! It's for you!" Heero didn't hear what she'd said, but the boy nodded to himself and a moment later, a woman in her mid-thirties came down the stairs.

She smiled at Heero in greeting. "What can I do for you?" She was petite and had a very kind face.

Heero searched for someplace to start. "Well, I hope so. I'm Heero Yuy, my family just moved into your old house." Her smile fell to a sad frown.

"Oh? Do you like it?"

"It's great, my parents love it. But I need your help with something." Heero braced himself for lots of yelling. "It concerns Duo."

Rumiko blinked. "But... Duo is..."

"Dead," Heero finished for her. "I know, but I found your diary and I would like for you to help me prove something..." He knew he was going slow, but he didn't want to just blurt out that Fuka killed Duo. He brought the diary out of his jacket pocket and flipped to the last entry.

He handed it to Rumiko so she could read it. He watched her eyes scan the paper before she looked up. Heero sighed. "Will you help me prove that Fuka murdered your son?"

The image of Duo crying before going upstairs flashed in front of his eyes. He swallowed hard.

Rumiko shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know that we can... But how do you know about Duo?"

"You'll never believe it..." he said sadly, shaking his head.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Try me," she challenged.

"Duo is haunting my house. He's become one of my best friends, and I actually found him reading this." He nodded toward the diary.

Rumiko didn't respond.

Heero sighed defeatedly. "I knew you wouldn't believe it."

Rumiko shook her head. "No, no I believe you," her eyes filled with hope. "But do you mean to tell me that you can... _see_ him?"

Heero smiled and nodded.

Her eyes shone with tears. "Can anyone else see him?"

Heero nodded again. "If he wants them to."

"Do you think I...?" she asked, her voice breaking.

"I'm sure of it," Heero said and smiled.

She brought her hands up to cover her mouth. The two children in the front yard came running to her yelling, "Mommy! Mommy!" They threw their arms around her and gazed up at her with worried expressions. "What's wrong, Mommy?" the girl asked. The boy nodded.

Rumiko smiled down at them. "I'm alright, Dorothy. I'm just happy."

"Then why are you crying?" asked the little boy quietly.

Rumiko kneeled between them. "Sometimes happiness is that overwhelming, Zechs."

Dorothy looked around at her brother and nodded. "Yeah, Zechs, that's just what girls do sometimes."

"Oh, ok!" The little boy smiled and squeezed his mother tight before running off again with his sister.

Rumiko stood again and swallowed hard. "Will you take me to see Duo?" she asked.

Heero nodded. He'd been expecting this. "Sure, um, do you want to drive yourself? I know it's a little hard to trust a stranger and get into his car..."

She blinked. "Oh, no! I trust you completely! You're friends with my first son, of course I trust you to take me to him," she confirmed.

Heero nodded. "Alright," he said and stepped to the side so she could step out. She stopped and told Dorothy and Zechs that she'd be back soon and to mind their brother. She then got into the car with Heero and they drove off.

They soon arrived at the house, and Heero led Rumiko inside. Heero looked around. "Duo?" he called. "Where are you?" he poked his head into the living room but didn't find him. He closed the front door and turned to Rumiko. "Could you wait for a minute while I go find him?" She nodded. "Ok, um, go ahead and take a seat in the living room." She nodded again.

Heero raced up the stairs and down the hall, into his bedroom. Duo was in that funny position again, with his feet on the bed and his front end hanging off the side. He sat up again when he saw Heero. "Well?" he asked.

Heero smiled. "She's downstairs waiting for you," he said. "She agreed to come with me."

Duo's eyes widened. "So... she's... here?" he asked quietly. Heero nodded and went back out, Duo closely following behind. He then found himself passing Heero with his fast steps, then he started running. He hurtled down the stairs and stopped at the entrance to the living room.

Rumiko looked up, startled. Heero then walked up behind Duo and nodded to Rumiko. "Duo?" she said, standing up slowly.

Duo blinked and moved a few steps forward. Heero rolled his eyes and pushed Duo so he would move. Duo stumbled and ran into the back of the couch. He glared at Heero who sat down and shrugged.

Duo turned back to Rumiko. He wasn't quite sure what to call her... Mom, or Rumiko.

They both looked at Heero at the same time, silently asking what to do now. Heero looked surprised. "What? Stop being so formal," he told Duo. Duo lifted his shoulders but a fraction of an inch, and Heero sighed. "Duo, why don't you talk to your mother or something?"

Duo blinked. Rumiko's eyebrows lifted. Duo nodded to himself, maybe for confidence, Heero didn't rightly know. Duo jumped over the back of the couch and sat next to Heero. He smiled.

Rumiko smiled as well. "How you can look so real? It's amazing!" Duo looked down at himself.

"Um, I'm not really sure how that works... But Hee-chan knows that I can be invisible-" he disappeared, although the couch still looked like there was someone sitting there. He reappeared. "And that I can look how people assume ghosts look like-" And with that, his color drained from his clothes and body. He grinned and his color came back.

"Wow, that's really strange... But then aren't you supposed to go through things?" she asked.

Duo nodded. "I do when I want to." He put his hand through the table as if it weren't there. He then drew it back and touched the tabletop. He looked up and blinked at Rumiko.

She reached out timidly and touched Duo's knee. "I'd expected to go through you..." she said quietly. She sat up straight again.

"If I didn't want you to be able to feel me, you would have. But I don't mind anymore if people can touch me."

Rumiko nodded. "Ok, so, what happened when you died?" She didn't go any further than that.

Duo grinned broadly. "Hee-chan asked that too. It was really weird, you know how people say that your life will flash before your eyes?" Rumiko nodded again. "Well, it did that, but it went backwards."

"That is weird. I see you're breathing, but how is that useful?"

"It's not, I think it's just habit," Duo replied. He rose and held up a finger. He exhaled and just stood there, not breathing. He then walked around the living room before sitting down again. "Nope, I don't need it."

"Do you need things that we do, like food or drink or sleep?"

"I don't eat or drink, but I do sleep. I don't know exactly why ghosts sleep, but yeah," Duo said, glancing at Heero for a moment. Heero just shrugged. He wasn't ashamed that they slept together, they never did anything.

Rumiko's eyebrow arched. Her expression turned to one of mild suspicion. Duo looked down. "I don't think I have anything else to ask," she said, changing the subject.

Duo looked up hopefully. "Well, why don't you tell me about yourself then?" he asked.

Rumiko smiled. "Ok, well you know that I'm married already. And I've adopted twice more." Duo nodded. "My oldest is Trieze, he's 14, and Zechs and Dorothy are 10 year old twins."

Duo's eyebrows lifted. "Ooh, twins!" He grinned. "Do they really look alike?"

Rumiko nodded. "Yes, very much. They're so much fun!" She brought her wallet out from her pocket and opened it to some pictures. She handed it to Duo. "That first one is Trieze, the next one is Dorothy," Duo flipped the page. "And that's Zechs." She smiled fondly as Duo turned the page. His eyes widened.

There he was, looking about 2 years old, and very happy. Heero leaned over to see it. "Aww." He tugged on Duo's braid. "Look how cute you were."

Duo quirked an eyebrow at him as if to say "Were?" Heero shrugged and sat back down. Rumiko smiled at the picture as Duo handed the wallet back to her. "Will you bring them here to meet me someday?" he asked hopefully. She shrugged.

"I guess I could. It's not like they don't believe in ghosts."

"Why didn't you bring them to meet me earlier? When I was alive?" Duo asked.

She sighed. "I don't really know..."

Duo nodded.

Heero changed the subject completely. "Where am I supposed to go, to bring up how Duo died?"

Rumiko thought for a moment. "I would guess that you'd go to the police, but I'm not sure we can really prove it; it happened quite a while ago."

"It didn't happen _that_ long ago, only a few months," Duo said. Heero nodded.

"Well, I know that, but it would be very hard to prove it, you know as well as I do that Fuka would deny it." She said Fuka's name so venemously, it made both Heero and Duo shiver.

Duo nodded. "Yes, but shouldn't we try?"

Heero sighed. "You have a good point, she _would_ deny it, and it would be difficult to prove. Duo, don't you have some sort of "ghostly powers" or something?" he asked desperately.

Duo blinked. "Well, actually, I don't really know..." Heero looked up. "I mean, I have no way of knowing if I do or not..."

"Why don't you try something?" Rumiko asked.

"Like what?"

"Try to do voodoo or something," Heero suggested. "Or, picture her in your mind, and do something that way."

Duo looked down and thought a moment. He looked up again. "But how do I know if I did anything?"

Heero shrugged. "I don't know, just try it, and if it works, maybe something will happen to let you know," he replied. "I'll be right back."

He got up and went into the door beside the staircase. They heard his hurried footsteps fade and Duo looked at Rumiko.

She had a very serious expression on her face. Duo's eyes widened in surprise to that. "Duo, tell me, what is your relationship with Heero." she said.

Duo blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you sleep together?"

Bing, right on the dot. Were they really that obvious? "Well, yes, but not like that. It's just that he got my old room, and he has a huge bed, so he let me."

Rumiko sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing bad about that. But I couldn't help but notice that you two seem to..." she searched for the right word. "Well, I guess just care about each other more than most friends."

Duo's jaw dropped. Geez, they really _were_ obvious. Duo swallowed hard. "Well, I guess that since you _are_ my mother," he smiled. "I guess I could trust you with my secret."

Rumiko nodded. "Of course you can trust me, you can tell me anything."

Duo gave her a lop-sided smile.


	14. Death Powers

Rewriting.

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Warnings: Yaoi.

Duo?  
Chapter 14: Death Powers

Heero came back right then with his hand behind his back and motioned for Duo to follow him upstairs. Duo looked down, and Rumiko was sure she saw him blush before he rose to follow Heero. "We'll be right back..." he said quietly with a small smile. She nodded and he turned and went upstairs.

Heero waited for Duo in his room, looking at the blue rose that now stood proudly next to the others in the vase.

Duo walked in and immediately saw the huge blue rose with the red and purple ones. He swallowed hard. Heero's calm gaze turned to Duo. He walked to Duo and closed the door behind the braided boy. Duo was sure that if he had a heartbeat, it would be beating about 20 times it's normal speed.

Heero turned to stand in front of Duo again. He watched his eyes until Duo looked up and returned his unwavering gaze. Duo blushed fiercely as Heero pulled his hand out of his pocket, a piece of paper held in his fingers.

Holding the paper out to Duo, Heero sighed inwardly. They were acting much like elementary school girls, using notes and the like to give hints to their crushes.

Duo hesitated and took the note from Heero, who turned away from Duo, but not turning all the way around. Duo unfolded the note and read:

1 meaning.

He looked up, silver specks glittering in his eyes. He blinked hard and they disappeared. Heero sighed.

One corner of Duo's mouth turned up in a half-grin. "How did you know to go back there?" he asked. "You just got up and left. How did you know it was there?"

Heero looked at Duo again. "I don't really know. I guess I was expecting it, and... I don't know why I decided to go now," he said quietly. He watched Duo's eyes for a moment before turning fully around to face him again. He had a suspicious look on his face.

Duo realized that his eyes must be turning silver again. He focused his mind on his mother. Heero's expression calmed. Duo sighed inwardly. 'Close call,' he thought.

"What was that?" Heero asked.

"What was what?"

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "I think you know what I mean; that thing with your eyes."

Duo looked down. 'Well, I guess he would've found out eventually...' "Um... Well... It's kinda hard to explain," he replied.

Heero walked to the roses, motioning, again, for Duo to follow. He picked up the purple rose and pointed to one of the thorns. "Does this have anything to do with it?" he asked.

Duo blinked and leaned closer to it. The thorn tip had turned a silvery red colour, while the rest was just plain red; Heero's blood. Duo nodded. "It has everything to do with this." His eyes flashed.

Heero put the rose back and stared at them for a moment. He looked up as Duo smiled. "I love you, Heero."

Heero's heart soared. "I love you too, Duo," he replied quietly. Duo stepped forward and embraced Heero.

Heero smiled and returned the gesture, sending a comforting wave of tingling through his body. Duo smiled when he felt Heero nuzzle his neck.

Neither knew just how long they were standing there, but Heero finally pulled back and looked into Duo's eyes, which were much more silver than just a few specks like they were last time. He didn't seem bothered by this though and smiled at Duo. "Your mother," he said softly.

Duo blinked and the silver slowly faded away. He smiled and nodded. He gave Heero a light kiss on his right cheek. He then took Heero's hand and led him out of the room. He didn't let go when they got to the stairs, but smiled at him as he trailed behind.

Rumiko looked up and smiled at the pair. Heero looked down as his cheeks coloured slightly. Duo sat down, letting go of Heero's hand. Heero sat down beside him. "Sorry about that," he muttered.

Rumiko shook her head. "No, no, don't worry about it! It's fine." She waved a hand at him. "So Duo, you were going to try something with-" her mouth twitched. "-Fuka?" she finished.

Duo nodded and closed his eyes, picturing the mother he'd known all his life.

Heero watched him and wondered if Duo knew that he was scowling.

Duo imagined a small needle and "made it" prick Fuka's arm. He felt a jolt in his mind, making him open his eyes again.

"Well? Did it work?" Rumiko asked.

Duo's eyebrows snapped together. "I'm not sure... I felt something, but I don't know if it means that it happened."

Rumiko and Heero exchanged glances. "Try something more serious..." Rumiko suggested.

"Like...?" Duo asked.

"Something we might see on the news..." Heero said quietly.

Duo tilted his head. He grinned mischievously and closed his eyes. He pictured Fuka again, but in her car that she'd owned when they lived together. He mentally pointed to a tree on the side of the road and watched her ram the car into the tree. He felt another jolt in his mind and he opened his eyes again.

Rumiko looked at him expectantly, Heero kept his gaze calm and didn't seem to really be paying attention to what was happening. "We sould watch the news tonight..." Duo said evilly.

Rumiko blinked. "What'd you do?"

Duo grinned. "You'll see."

Later that night, Heero turned on the TV to the news channel at 8:00. After a few commercials, the news started.

The news people talked about a few things before they got to recent injuries in the city:

"Earlier today, a woman by the name of Fuka Maxwell crashed her car on her way to go shopping. She was unconscious when ambulances arrived. They have taken her to the hospital."

Duo grinned.

Heero muted it. Duo's grin broadened. "It worked."

"Maybe we should experiment?" Heero said. Duo nodded enthusiastically.

Rumiko stood up. "Can we do so tomorrow? I really need to get home." Heero nodded and followed her to the door with Duo.

Rumiko and Duo said their goodbyes and Heero took Rumiko home.

When he returned Duo was nowhere to be found. Heero climbed the stairs and went to his room. It was very dark, but Heero knew he was in there. He went inside and closed the door behind him like always. He changed into his bed-clothes, but didn't bother to find Duo to tell him to turn around. He sat on the bed when he was done, but didn't get in.

Duo watched him as he sat there in the dark, looking lonely. His silvery purple eyes flashed and he moved across the bed to sit next to Heero. Heero looked up into Duo's eyes. They seemed to glow in the dark room and Heero's stomach did a flip. Duo smiled and put his arm around his shoulders.

Heero hesitated before finally leaning his head on Duo's shoulder. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. "It's only 8:30, Heero," Duo said softly, his voice deeper than usual.

Heero opened his eyes. "I know," Heero replied. He pulled up his legs and folded them underneath him and leaned on Duo. He closed his eyes again. "I know..."

Duo smiled and guessed that Heero had fallen asleep. He picked him up and put him in his side of the bed. He then climbed in himself on the other side. He pulled his love closer to the middle before falling asleep with Heero already asleep in his arms. 


	15. Sing to Me

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Duo?  
Chapter 15: Sing to Me

Heero woke up early the next morning expecting to find the other side of his bed empty like it usually was when he woke up. Duo always got up before he did. But this morning was different; their love had been revealed. Duo stayed with him.

Duo also seemed to know when Heero woke up, for he woke up not two minutes after Heero. He smiled at Heero. "Duo..." Heero mumbled and buried his face in Duo's shirt. He sighed and closed his eyes again.

Duo looked at the clock over the top of Heero's head and heard Heero mumble again, "What time is it?" he asked.

"It's 8:15, lover," Duo replied softly.

Heero pushed himself up from the matress and squinted into the brightly illuminated room. He turned around to sit and rubbed his eyes. He stretched and swung his legs out from under the blankets and sighed heavily. "I don't know how I'll ever get used to school hours again..." he muttered. Duo chuckled.

"I'll help," he said. "By the way, when do you start school, anyway?"

Heero shrugged. "I dunno." He closed the blinds, shutting out the sun. "I don't even know which school I'm going to yet." He yawned and sat back down on the bed.

Duo sighed. "So you're going to be gone for... how many hours a day?"

Heero thought for a moment. "Um... Maybe 7 to 8, I think."

"Sheesh! That's more than the amount of sleep I get!" Duo exclaimed, crawling across the bed to lay on his stomach next to Heero.

Heero looked down at him and quirked an eyebrow. "Then get more sleep." Duo glared at him.

"No," he said stubbornly. "Make me."

Heero only rolled his eyes. He groaned and fell back onto the bed alongside Duo. "I really don't want to get up today," he said, covering his eyes with his forearm.

Duo shrugged. "Then don't. Why don't you sleep in like normal people?" he asked as he fingered the end of his braid.

Heero scowled. "You're dead, but you're still a person, why don't _you_ sleep in? I always wake up alone," he pointed out.

Duo grinned to himself. "Does that bother you?"

Heero brought his arm down and thought about that. "Sometimes," he answered finally. Duo's grin broadened. Heero propped himself up on his elbows to see Duo's reaction to his answer.

Duo turned on his side facing Heero, his expression hopeful. "Really?"

Heero smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

Duo smiled back. "Would it make you happy if I didn't get up before you?" he asked.

Heero tilted his head to one side. "You'd do that for me?"

Duo nodded. "Of course, Hee-chan." He grinned when Heero twitched from the nickname. Heero rolled his eyes and sat up. Duo sighed. "So, what're you gonna do today, Mr. I-get-up-too-early-every-morning?"

Heero sighed. "I don't know... Are you going to wait till Fuka gets out of the hospital before doing anything else?"

Duo blinked. "I don't know, maybe. I guess whenever I feel like it, I will. But I don't think I'll do anything today," Duo answered.

xxx

The doorbell rang and Heero got up to answer it. "I wonder who that is?" Duo said from the couch. Heero shrugged and opened the door. He smiled.

"Hey, Duo, guess who's here!" Heero called. Duo was by his side in a flash, grinning immensely.

Rumiko smiled. "Hello, Duo! These are my children, Trieze, Zechs, and Dorothy," she said, pointing to each in turn. Trieze crossed his arms and quirked an eyebrow.

"A ghost, huh?" He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."

Rumiko pulled him down the front path a few feet and spoke to him. "Are you obliged to be rude to others?" The boy sighed stubbornly as she took him back.

Duo nodded to Rumiko and beckoned them inside. "It's good you see you again," Duo said as his mother stopped in front of him. She smiled and Duo embraced her in a mother-son hug. He, being surprisingly taller than the 14 year old boy, bent over with his hands on his knees and looked into the boy's eyes menacingly. "And yes, I am a ghost," he whispered.

Trieze didn't seem fazed, and kept his expression cool. Duo narrowed his eyes at him before standing up and leading them all into the living room. Heero smiled and nodded to Rumiko, who sat in the same chair as last night and smiled back. The twins sat on the couch, side by side, and Trieze sat next to them.

Dorothy then smiled and said, "Duo, will you do a trick for us?"

Zechs nodded. "Yeah! A ghost trick!" he said enthusiastically. Trieze raised his eyebrows.

Duo looked at Heero, who nodded. He shrugged. "Ok, like what?"

Dorothy and Zechs looked at each other and grinned. "Disappear," Zechs announced.

Duo smiled and nodded and promptly disappeared. "Cool!" Zechs cried out. Trieze sat up.

"It's just a trick," he said. Duo appeared sitting on the table directly in front of Trieze.

"Really?" he said sarcastically. He then quickly drew back his hand and swung it at Trieze's cheek. Treize cringed, waiting. Duo stopped just before his hand touched Trieze and waited for him to open his eyes again. When he did, Duo slowly put his hand through Trieze's head. "Are you sure about that?" he taunted. He watched with glee as Trieze swallowed hard and shook his head.

Duo nodded and disappeared. He reappeared, looking quite satisfied, next to Heero.

xxx

The afternoon passed quickly, filled with chatter and laughter. Trieze soon warmed up to Duo and Heero and joined into the happy conversations around him.

When they all left after 7 o'clock, the whole house seemed to be filled with the happiness of everyone.

Soon, the doorbell rang again and the pair opened the door to find Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei. Duo grinned. "Hello, Heero, Duo," Quatre said happily. Heero nodded.

"Hi, Q!" Duo replied.

"Why don't you guys come in?" Heero offered, stepping off to one side.

Quatre shook his head. "No thank you, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute." Heero blinked and nodded. Quatre motioned for him to follow him outside. Heero followed, leaving Duo chattering happily with the others.

Quatre stopped after walking down the sidewalk a while and faced Heero with an excited expression. "Well? Did you tell him yet?" he asked.

Heero narrowed his eyes. "You're rather nosy, aren't you?" he said. Quatre blushed. "Yes, I did."

Quatre's face lit up. "How did it go?"

Heero sighed. "Actually, he told me first."

"That's great!" Quatre exclaimed. "I'm glad you two are finally happy." He smiled and called to Trowa and Wufei. They said their goodbyes to Duo and left.

Heero walked back in and closed the door. "What was that about?" Duo asked when Heero came back.

"You..." Heero answered slowly. "And me," he added.

Duo nodded. Heero sat down on the couch and sighed. Then Duo got an idea. "Hee-chan, do you sing?"

Heero turned to look at him as if to say, "Are you serious?"

Duo held up his hands. "Ok! Ok, I was just wondering..."

Heero's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

Duo smiled. "Because I wondered what it would sound like if you sang," he said quietly.

Heero's expression softened. "Do _you_ sing?"

Duo sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I did..."

Heero tilted his head to one side. "Did? Don't you sing anymore?"

Duo shook his head. "No, I don't really have any reason to," he answered sadly.

A small smile appeared on Heero's lips. "Will you sing for me?"

Duo's eyes widened in surprise. Then he smiled. "Sure." He folded his legs under him and patted his lap. Heero gladly lay his head in Duo's lap and gazed up at him, waiting. The room was dark now, and Duo's eyes seemed to be glowing again.

Duo thought for a moment, then smiled. He stroked Heero's forehead soothingly, moving his bangs away as he started to sing.

A few minutes later as Duo finished the song, he continued to stroke Heero's forehead. Having closed his eyes halfway through the song, Heero opened his eyes a little, just to let Duo know that he was still awake. Duo smiled down at him and he closed his eyes again.

After waiting in the silent, dark room for a while, waiting for him to fall asleep, Duo carried Heero upstairs. Setting him in bed, Duo made sure that Heero was comfortable before getting in himself. Once again, he pulled Heero to the middle with him before closing his eyes.

"Sing to me..."

Duo's eyes opened again at that. He looked down at the boy in his arms who was looking up at him with his sapphire eyes. He smiled and nodded.

Heero smiled and leaned his head against Duo's chest and closed his eyes as Duo sung him to sleep.


	16. Bittersweet Revenge

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 16: Bittersweet Revenge

Heero opened his eyes and immediately saw Duo's beautiful face in front of him, still and peaceful as he slept. Heero smiled and glanced at the three roses in the vase. They were as magnificent as ever, in full bloom and standing proud.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" Duo said quietly, startling Heero. Duo smiled. "Hi, Heero."

Heero's eyes danced with amusement and he gave Duo a small smile in return. Duo sat up and yawned. Heero got up to close the blinds again and sat back down. Duo raised his eyebrows at Heero and lay down again, closing his eyes. "Are you going back to sleep?" Heero asked him.

Duo opened one eye and grinned. "Yeah, I decided it would be nice to sleep in for once," he replied.

Heero tried to hide a yawn behind his hand and rubbed his eyes. "That sounds like a good idea..." he said sleepily and lay down, his back facing Duo. Duo's grin broadened and he pulled Heero to him and wrapped his arms around Heero's middle. Heero sighed as he was pulled into the safety of his lover's arms.

Both fell asleep immediately.

xxx

Later, Heero woke up feeling very refreshed. Duo also awoke and squeezed Heero once before he got up. Heero followed and went right to his roses that stood so proud like that since the day he received each. He touched the petals of the purple one and smiled at the touch. It felt like Duo's skin; soft and silky. None showed even the slightest sign of withering anytime soon and he silently wondered why.

Duo came up behind Heero and wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on his shoulder. "I love you, Heero," he whispered in his ear. Heero shivered. Duo smiled and left the room so Heero could dress in privacy.

xxx

After much searching, Heero found Duo on the third floor, in the same bedroom as when Heero found him when he had been crying. Duo was seated on a rug in the middle of the floor reading a book. He didn't bother to look up when Heero walked in and sat down next to him. "Hi, Heero," he said distractedly as he read. Heero looked at the book and noticed that it wasn't Haunted Heartland, but a different book called 5 Days.

"What's that about?" he asked curiously. Duo was considerably far into the middle of the book, so Heero assumed he'd been reading that for a while now. It was a large book with small print and Heero wondered to himself where Duo had found it.

Duo finished reading a paragraph and marked his place with a piece of paper he'd torn off of something. "It's about a guy who's given orders by his "master" to go kill some girl within a month... It's really interesting so far."

"Oh? What's happening where you are?" Heero asked, picking up the book.

"Well, after chasing her for half the month, he finally got caught by some people who are working for her and protecting her and now they're torturing him," Duo replied as Heero scanned the back.

"But why's it called 5 Days?"

Duo grinned. "But that would ruin it for you if you ever read it," Duo pointed out.

Heero scowled. "You're right... Oh well."

"I'm reading it to get ideas for torturing Fuka," Duo said, his eyes narrowed.

"But we only started that yesterday... How could you've read this far in such a short time?"

Duo only shrugged.

Heero shook his head and opened to the first page.

_I looked up from the computer and scowled at the letter sliding into my room. I knew who it was from... He wanted something again, but I really wasn't in the mood. I leaned back in my chair and pushed my hands through my hair. Last week he had me go after a rival of his... And the week before I killed one of his guards without an explanation as to why._

_I'm so sick of doing his dirty work, that I almost thought of discarding the "mission" and getting a real job. But I couldn't. I sighed as I rose to snatch the paper off the floor. I knew it was from him. It had nothing written on it but all of his flunkies know who I am and where I live, so there wouldn't really be much need for an address._

_I open the letter irritatedly and quickly scan over the secret code he uses. I've memorized it by now. He wants me to kill someone... A woman. I've never killed a woman before, and it was really one of his rules not to hurt women._

_"Hypocrite..." I mutter out loud. I scowl at the letter. It doesn't tell me why he want's her dead, but that doesn't surprise me. I refold the note and shove it into my jacket pocket as I prepare to leave. I lock up my room and stalk towards his building. I scan the streets for cars and passers-by before entering the seemingly deserted building and descend down the hidden doorway._

_His guards are hiding in the shadows, completely invisible, but these contacts he has given me connects with the chip that he installed in my head before I started working. I can see and identify the seven guards waiting there. I nod formally and keep walking. Two emerge and silently fall into step behind me. My gloved hands clench in surpressed anger. He still doesn't trust me, after all these years, he still thinks I need escorts._

_I take the sharp turn into the shadows where his office lies hidden from view. I glance up at the security camera that the contacts allow me to see in the darkness of the narrow hallway. They also turn my eyes an eerie green color... like a cat's, and it also allows me to see much like a feline._

Heero looked up at Duo's grin. "Catches your attention pretty well, doesn't it," he said, although it wasn't really a question.

Heero nodded. "I've never seen this book before, was it here when we moved in?" he asked.

Duo nodded. "Yeah, it belonged to the last family that lived here," he replied.

Heero closed the book. "I think I might want to read that later." He gave it back to Duo, who set it down on the rug in front of him. "So, did you get any ideas?"

Duo smirked and nodded. "Oh yes, many," he said and closed his eyes. "I think I'll try one now..." He took a deep breath and concentrated on the image of Fuka. He chuckled to himself as he tortured her with beatings at first, like in the book. After amusing himself with that, he opened his eyes. "That should do for today."

"What'd you do?" Heero asked curiously.

Duo shrugged. "I just beat on her a little," he said casually.

Heero nodded. "This might sound crazy, but I think it's... wrong, to be hurting her," he said and looked down at his hands, expecting to be yelled at or hit or something like that. But nothing ever came.

"Heero," Duo said quietly. "I know what you mean, it makes you feel guilty right?" He shook his head. "Heero, she's the only mother I've ever known, and I feel bad doing this too. But she killed me, and no amount of torture can satisfy the hunger for her pain that lingers inside me... It might hurt at first, and I had come close to tears seeing her in that hospital bed. But she can't ever be forgiven, especially by me." He swallowed hard. "Y'know, it took me quite a while to make myself believe the things that I read in that diary. I didn't want to believe it. She was my mother and I loved her, and doing this hurts me too. But it's like I have two different extremes, my soul longs to see her in pain, but causing her pain is another thing... it... it hurts me too..."

Duo's eyes shimmered with tears and Heero immediately understood that he could never really know what Duo was feeling. Duo stood up and tried his best to smile down at Heero. One tear from each eye rolled quickly down Duo's cheeks as he spoke, "Please try to understand, Heero, I'm going to follow my heart."

Heero stood up as Duo left the room. He shook his head sadly and slowly exited also. He went downstairs and out the front door; he knew that Duo wanted to be alone. Down the street, he spotted Quatre and Trowa talking while walking towards the park. He jogged toward them and slowed when Trowa heard his footsteps and turned around. "Hey guys," he said as they started walking again.

"Hi Heero," Quatre said happily. Trowa nodded. "What's up?"

Heero shoved his hands into his pockets. "Well, I'm concerned for Duo. He found out a while ago that his stepmother poisoned him and he wants revenge, and he can do things to her with his mind." He looked up at them. "Are you with me so far?"

Quatre blinked. "Are you saying that Duo had a different mother?" he asked.

Heero nodded. "Yeah, he was adopted by one couple, but they broke up when he was too young to remember and his foster father remarried and she's the one who killed him."

Quatre looked at Trowa with a confused expression. He turned back to Heero. "Duo was adopted?"

Heero nodded again. "I know, it surprised me too. But now he kind of has two different sides as he... well... avenges himself. He says it hurts him to torture the one mother he ever knew, but he wants to see her in pain for what she did. And he said he was going to follow his heart, so I think he's going to continue doing things to her, even though it hurts him too..." Heero's voice trailed off and he sighed.

Trowa squeezed Quatre's hand for comfort as Quatre found a sudden interest in his shoes. He looked up and smiled gratefully at him. He sighed. "But how can that be helped?" he asked Heero.

Heero shrugged. "I don't know... I feel like I should support what Duo wants, but I still have a guilty feeling that makes me feel like I should talk him out of it. I don't know what to do..."

"That decision is up to you," Trowa said quietly but knowingly. "If your love for Duo is so strong that you stand behind him, it'll seem right to you. But if you think that he is overdoing it, then you should tell him so."

Heero blinked in surprise as Trowa spoke, but sighed and nodded.

xxx

For the rest of the day, Heero stayed with Quatre and Trowa. Long after dark had already come, he decided it was time to face Duo. He glanced at his watch and was startled when it said 9:47. He sighed and went into the dark house. He didn't bother to turn on any lights, but he went straight upstairs and into his room, where he felt Duo's presence.

He walked in quietly and shut the door behind him. He spotted Duo lying on the bed, his back facing the door. Heero thought for a moment before lying on the bed himself, facing the much troubled Duo. He recalled Trowa's small speech and bit his lip, he sighed inwardly and decided.

"Duo?" he asked softly. Duo didn't stir. "Duo, I'm really sorry about all this, and I want you to know that if you choose to keep going with this, I'll stand behind you, no matter what."

Duo stayed still for a moment, allowing Heero's words to sink in. Then he turned around to face him. He smiled and touched his forehead to Heero's. "Thank you, Heero."

Heero could feel Duo's breath on his face as he talked. He swallowed hard as he felt a shiver run up his spine. Duo's smile widened and he moved his upper body forward. Heero's heart jumped into his throat as Duo placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. Duo pulled back again and cupped Heero's cheek in his hand.

Heero swallowed again and put his hand over Duo's. It was warm...

Duo looked away. "I'm sorry, Heero..." he whispered, sitting up and trying to withdraw his hand. But Heero wouldn't let go. He wrapped his fingers around Duo's and gazed into his deep, amethyst eyes as he sat up also.

A small smile graced his lips. "Do it again..." he said softly. Duo smiled. His hand moved to hold Heero's chin and he leaned in again. Heero's eyes fluttered closed as Duo's lips touched his once again. It started out chaste and dry, but when Heero's lips parted, inviting more, Duo followed. Heero felt Duo's tongue slip into his mouth, sliding against his own. His heartbeat quickened as Duo explored his mouth. Heero released Duo's hand and gripped his shirt instead. Duo shifted slowly so Heero sat between his parted knees and held Heero's head in his hands.

Duo's eyes snapped open and he pulled back quickly. He really hadn't meant to go that far. Heero's breath came in shallow gasps and Duo realized that he was trembling. Heero stared blankly at Duo, mesmerized by the strange color of his eyes.

Heero finally seemed to snap out of his trance when he drew in a shaky breath and turned his gaze away. Duo shook his head and pushed himself off the bed. He then walked quickly - almost ran - out the door.

Heero looked back up in surprise when Duo did this and extended his hand to the door that slammed shut behind Duo. He dropped his hand. "Duo..."


	17. Never Regret, Never Doubt

Rewriting.

Warnings: Yaoi

Disclaimers: Don't own GW.

Duo?  
Chapter 17: Never Regret, Never Doubt

After a few moments, Heero decided to go after Duo. He rushed out the door as quietly as he could and tried to locate Duo. He went to the bottom of the staircase leading to the third floor (which was also the top of the staircase leading downstairs), to see if he could find out which floor he was on. It was the third. That didn't really surprise him though. He went up the stairs.

He looked inside the room where he'd found Duo earlier and didn't see him, so he went to the next one. Not there either. He looked at the last door and mentally whapped himself for not seeing that earlier: There was a dim line of light under the door and he heard Duo's muttering coming from inside.

He pushed the door open slightly and peered inside. Duo sat on the bed of an old guest room with his back to the door. His fists were clenched in his flowing chestnut hair that he'd taken out of its confining braid. He yanked hard but didn't really seem to notice.

There was a small window in front of Duo, but the dark curtains were pulled shut. There was also a little lamp on the bedside table to one side of Duo. The gentle glow radiating from it lit the room with a soft orange color, bathing Duo in it as well. It was a comfortable little room, not as big as most of the rooms, but still comfortable.

Heero's attention was brought back to the young boy sitting on the bed miserably as his back jerked with the sudden tears that flowed from his tormented, amethyst eyes. Duo loosened his grip on his hair and moved his hands to cover his face. "Heero probably hates me..." he muttered quietly to himself, so quietly that Heero would've missed it had he not been listening for Duo's voice.

Gathering his courage, Heero took a deep breath and pushed the door open farther, its old hinges squeaking. Duo gasped and whirled around, his hair like a wavy cape behind him. The tears still streaming endlessly down his cheeks tugged at Heero's heart and he walked into the room. "I don't hate you, Duo," he said softly, absorbing the fantasy sitting before him.

Duo stood up. "I'm so sorry Heero," he said, turning away from him, his head bowed.

"For what?" Heero asked. "For loving me?"

Duo lifted his head. He stiffened when he felt Heero's arms circle and embrace him. Heero leaned his cheek against the flat of Duo's back and he closed his eyes. "Don't ever stop loving me and don't ever regret what you did, no matter what."

Duo relaxed and put his hands over Heero's. He smiled. "I don't know how to respond to that, Heero," Duo admitted quietly. He turned around to face him.

Heero smiled slightly also. "Then don't." He then leaned forward and kissed Duo with such passion that surprised both him and Duo. Duo allowed Heero control with this kiss and merely wrapped his arms around his love. Heero pulled back to dry Duo's cheeks with his thumbs. Duo smiled appreciatively and their lips met again.

Heero ran his fingers through Duo's silky, chestnut hair and closed the small gap between their bodies. Duo's eyes opened slightly in surprise but closed them again within a moment. Duo knew that Heero needed air soon or he would collapse, but neither he nor Heero wanted that moment to end.

Heero finally pulled back, and barely caught himself as his legs threatened to let him fall to the floor. Duo smiled to himself and followed Heero as he sat down on the bed until he could feel his legs again. Duo gave Heero a quick kiss on the lips once he'd sat down. "You want to deprive yourself of air until you pass out, don't you?" He grinned playfully.

Heero smiled back. "Only if you're there to catch me," he replied and caught Duo's lips once more. Duo found himself envying Heero for his ability to do this gradually.

'Unlike me...' he thought with distress. 'How can he even look at me after what I did?' He sighed inwardly. 'I guess that doesn't really matter now, he told me not to regret it, so I couldn't have done anything too bad that he didn't like.' He allowed Heero to ease him down to his back. 'Nope, I guess it wasn't so bad for him after all.'

Heero broke away again but kept his face close to Duo's. He rested his forehead on Duo's and smiled down at him. He closed his eyes. "I love you, Duo," he breathed.

Duo smiled sadly. "You're so good to me, Heero... I don't deserve you."

Heero lifted his head to look down at Duo. "Don't be modest, lover, you deserve better." He grinned. "But unfortunately, I'm all you've got." He chuckled and lay down directly alongside Duo and wrapped his arm around his waist. He rested his head on Duo's chest and sighed.

"Ah, but you're all I need," Duo said quietly, slipping his arm around Heero. Heero pulled himself as close to Duo as was physically possible at the time and all of Duo's doubts melted away. 


	18. Beatings and Card Games

Rewriting.

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 18: Beatings and Card Games

Duo peered through the side window and gasped before throwing open the door. "What happened to him!" he cried as Trowa carried a very beaten looking Heero in, supporting him by keeping one of his arms around his neck. Duo stepped to one side to allow him and Quatre inside.

Quatre stopped to speak to Duo as Trowa helped Heero to the couch in the living room. "It seems the bullies down the street decided it was time to teach the new kid who's boss..." He shook his head sadly. "Poor Heero, I feel awful."

Duo nodded and hurried to Heero's side. Heero had left early that morning just to get out of the house and now, two hours later, he was lying beaten half to death on the couch with a pained, glassy look in his eyes. They turned to Duo and he smiled weakly. Duo heard Quatre softly say his goodbyes to them and the front door opened and closed softly.

Duo cupped Heero's quickly bruising cheek in his hand and swallowed hard. "Are you alright, Heero?" he asked quietly as Heero tilted his head, leaning into Duo's palm. He closed his eyes and nodded slightly. Duo smiled. "It was rhetorical, Heero, of course you're not alright."

Heero blinked and nodded again. Duo grinned. "Show me where it hurts, lover." That got a laugh from Heero. "I'll get you some ice," Duo said and went into the kitchen. He came back a moment later with an ice bag they kept in the kitchen and handed it to Heero.

"Thanks," Heero said quietly. Duo smiled.

"I'll go get you some painkillers or something," Duo said and walked off again. Heero pressed the ice pack to his pounding head and closed his eyes, waiting patiently for his lover.

xxx

Later that day, Heero started to feel better and he and Duo were playing board games.

"Ha! I win again!" Heero said with a triumphant grin.

Duo's jaw dropped. "How did I lose!" Heero gladly pointed out his mistake and Duo pouted. "I hate you..."

Heero grinned. "No you don't," he said, planting a small kiss on Duo's cheek.  
Duo glared at him and sighed. "Can we do something else... I'm tired of losing."

"You didn't lose the whole time, Duo," Heero told him, receiving another glare.

"I won twice... Out of all the games we played..." His glare turned to a suspicious gaze. "I bet you cheated!" he accused with mock seriousness.

Heero's eyes widened. "I've never even played half these games before!" He quirked an eyebrow at Duo. "Tell me how I could've cheated?"

Duo sighed dramatically. "Such a long list..." He threw up his arms in the air and fell back onto the floor. Heero smiled and shook his head.

"What should we do now?" Duo asked, folding his hands under his head and looking up at the ceiling. Heero shrugged. "You pick this time," Duo insisted, turning his gaze to Heero.

Heero blinked. "I don't know what to do... I'm not exactly capable of doing much besides this right now anyway," he responded.

Duo nodded. "You should probably be resting anyway... You still look awful. Does it hurt anymore?"

Heero shook his head. "No... Well, I'm going to be sore for a few days, but I think I'll live," he grinned.

Duo rolled his eyes. "You really don't take your injuries very seriously, do you?"

"I take them seriously when they're serious enough."

Duo quirked an eyebrow. "You don't consider getting bloodied up so bad that Trowa had to support you just to get home serious?"

Heero shrugged. "I've had worse..." he said simply.

Duo sat up. "Worse? Worse how?"

"I used to get beat on all the time," Heero said more casually than Duo considered normal.

Duo grabbed his arm, careful not to hit any bruises or scrapes. "But look at you!" He wrapped two fingers and his thumb around Heero's bicep with one hand, bending his arm at the elbow with the other. Heero chuckled and shook his head.

"That was when I was little, when I got older I got around to actually defending myself." Duo released Heero's arm and sighed.

"You've been beaten up worse than this?" he inquired quietly. Heero nodded. "How much worse?"

Heero thought for a moment. "Unconscious worse, stitches worse, hospital worse - not including broken bones. Basically whatever you can come up with, I had worse."

"Why were you picked on so much?" Duo asked, barely keeping ahold of his emotions. Unshed tears brimmed his wide violet eyes as he waited for an answer.

Heero sighed. "I'm not really sure... I guess I was just always the small one and I didn't have any other male friends that could stand up for me." He ran one of his hands through his messy hair. "The boys who picked on me weren't ever caught, though."

"Go figure," Duo said bitterly. He looked up at Heero sympathetically and moved to sit next to him. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Heero," he said, putting his arm around Heero's shoulders. "Could you have defended yourself this time? Or were there too many?"

Heero shook his head and leaned against Duo. "No... I just didn't want to fight back, I probably could've beaten the pair that came after me, but I just didn't want to..." he said quietly. He didn't want to admit it to Duo, but Heero knew exactly why he didn't fight, Duo had been in his mind throughout his beating and he couldn't get his body to respond the way he wanted it to. Wondering what Duo would think of him if he'd fought made him feel guilty about taking a swing at them.

After a few moments of silence, Heero suggested, "Why don't we play a few card games? Those are easy to win. How about it?"

A grin lit Duo's face and his eyes sparkled mischievously. "I know the perfect game."

xxx

For the rest of the afternoon, Duo and Heero played card games like Speed, Uno, and a truckload of others. They both laughed and joked and had a wonderful time, but before they knew it, it was almost nine.

Duo glanced at the clock after beating Heero for the third time in a row at Speed. "Wow, we sat here all afternoon, Heero! You should get some rest now, we wouldn't want to sleep deprive you in your condition." He grinned and rose to stretch. Heero watched in fascination. He shook his head to clear his sudden dizziness that washed over him.

Duo, having not noticed, helped Heero to his feet and stood close by in case Heero should need support. He smiled at Heero and grasped his hand, intertwining their fingers. He then led Heero to the stairs and up into their room. Duo left Heero standing alone so he could dress and sat down on the end of the bed, facing away from Heero.

Heero became lightheaded and his eyelids fluttered. "Duo..." he called softly before falling to his knees. Before he fell forward to the floor, Duo was there to catch him. He opened his eyes and Duo noticed that they were sort of shaking, as though he were looking at more than one of him.

"Heero?" he said as his eyes fluttered closed again. "Heero?" His voice was becoming more urgent. This could be bad... "Heero, answer me!"

Heero's eyes snapped open again, still shaking and he brought his hand up and pressed the heel of his palm to his forehead. He moaned quietly. He then sighed and fell silent with his hand still on his forehead. "Heero! Say something!" Duo shook him gently. Heero's eyes opened again and he brought his hand down. His shaking sapphire eyes were glassy as he smiled weakly.

"I guess it was worse than I thought," he said softly. Duo smiled down at him.

"I told you you should've rested, Heero." Heero nodded.

"I know, Duo..." He closed his eyes. "When I said I'm not capable of doing anything... I meant it."

Duo picked Heero up and set him on the bed so he was leaning against the bedstead. Heero kept his eyes closed peacefully as Duo snatched Heero's bedshirt from under his pillow. Duo pulled Heero forward and lifted his shirt up over his head and slipped it off his arms. He tried not to stare at his lover's perfect body as he put the shirt over Heero's head and put his arms through the sleeves.

He swallowed hard before he slipped Heero's jeans off. He knew that Heero wore boxers, so there was really nothing to worry about, but Duo had to bite his tongue to keep from taking advantage of Heero. Duo tossed Heero's clothes into a basket he kept next to the door and came back to Heero and got him into bed.

"Heero?" he asked softly. Heero made a low "Hm?" noise so Duo continued. "Heero, if you don't get any better by tomorrow, I'm going to have Quatre and Trowa take you to get help, ok?"

Heero nodded slowly and sighed. Duo pulled him close like he usually did and kissed his forehead. "Duo, will you sing for me?" Duo smiled.

"Of course I will," he said before he started to sing Heero to sleep with one of his favorite songs: Wild Wing Boys. 


	19. Boredom

Rewriting.

Warnings: Yaoi.

Duo?  
Chapter 19: Boredom

During the next few days, Heero didn't need a doctor. Duo knew Heero was strong and could handle this, but he seemed to be healing at an unnaturally fast pace. Heero had noticed this too and wondered why. He'd always been a fairly slow healer... He could take a few guesses at why it would be different now, but Duo might not have anything to do with it at all.

As another boring day spent in the house ended, Heero sighed heavily. "Duo... how can you stand staying in here all the time? I think I'm about ready to bust with boredom..."

'I'd fix that for you if I could...' Duo thought.

Heero longed silently for something to do and noticed Duo's forlorn and far off look. He sat up. "What's the matter, Duo?"

Duo snapped his head up in surprise. "Whadd'ya mean?" he slurred.

Heero quirked an eyebrow. "I mean, why do you look so depressed?"

"I'm not depressed!" Duo objected quickly.

Heero rolled his eyes. "You're lying to me, Duo. Don't think I can't tell," he warned. "What's bothering you?" Duo stayed silent for too long. "Why can't you tell me?" Duo stared at the floor in front of him with a troubled look on his face. "Might it have something to do with me?" Heero asked quietly.

Duo blinked and nodded slowly. He knew he could be honest with Heero, so why was this so hard? 'Rejection...' Duo answered himself. 'I'm so afraid of rejection that I can't be honest with him... I'm so pathetic.'

Heero waited patiently for Duo to speak and remained silent.

'But if he rejects me for wanting... him... Then this isn't a very good relationship, is it?' Duo asked himself. He mentally shook himself. 'But I don't want to lose him! But I can't lie...'

Duo sighed. "I can't lie to you, Heero. You're everything to me. I just... I don't know, I feel like I take advantage of you. But I can't help it..." He kept his gaze down. He swallowed hard. "I just want... to..." he couldn't finish. His cheeks flushed a dark crimson and he bowed his head lower.

Heero understood the unspoken words and kneeled next to Duo. His expression was soft as he took Duo's beautiful face in his hands and made him look up. Duo's eyes flashed silver. Heero lowered his hands. "Hold me, Duo," he said quietly. Duo's eyes widened.

The words rang in Duo's ears for what seemed like forever before Heero turned and leaned slowly against Duo. Duo timidly wrapped his arms around Heero and couldn't help thinking about a few days before when he'd first laid eyes on his lover's absolutely perfect body.

Heero lifted his head to look at Duo. It didn't surprise him that they were that weird silvery purple colour. He liked that colour, actually. Duo noticed that Heero was looking at his eyes and blinked to clear the colour. Heero found himself kind of disappointed to see it fade, but he really couldn't do much about it.

'Or can I?' he asked himself. He knew Duo was happy when his eyes turned that colour, and he definitely knew how to trigger it... Heero somehow felt safe when Duo looked at him that way, although he didn't know why. He knew what Duo wanted, so why not give it to him?

With that thought racing through his mind, Heero sat up and quickly pressed his lips to Duo's. His heart raced as he deepened the kiss.

Duo opened his eyes and wondered why Heero was going so much faster than he usually did. Not that they did this very often, so there wasn't really much to compare to. He closed his eyes soon enough and went along with Heero. He parted for air not five seconds after Duo had closed his eyes. His breathing was quick and shallow as he gazed into Duo's eyes lovingly.

Duo noticed the love that stood out in Heero's eyes and wondered if he'd done that so quickly for a reason. He had also noticed the disappointment in Heero's eyes when he'd forced his real eye colour back. 'Is that it? But why would he want them to be like that? He knows why they do that, so why would he want it?'

"Take me..." Heero fumbled with the words in his mind, but he liked the way it sounded out loud.

Duo stared at Heero strangely. It wasn't a request... but not a demand. Did Heero really want that? 'Or is he just doing so for me?' Duo thought. He cupped Heero's cheek in his hand. He tilted his head. "Why? For me or for you?"

Heero shook his head. "Neither... I want this for us. I know what it is you want. I want it too. I was just afraid to ask," he admitted. Duo smiled and kissed Heero's forehead.

Heero stood up and watched Duo rise next to him. Heero took Duo's hand and led him to the stairs and up into their room. The dark room was only lit by the street lights outside the window and Heero released Duo's hand. Duo closed the door behind him and sat on the bed while Heero closed the shades.

Heero could only tell where Duo was now because his eyes were literally glowing in the pitch black room. Heero smiled to himself at the wonderful colour. Duo kept his eyes on Heero as he moved around the bed to close the other blinds that weren't letting any light in as they were facing the house nextdoor.

Heero wondered how Duo was keeping track of where he was going as he moved around the room. He smiled and thought that Duo either can see in the dark... Like a cat, or his eyes were also visible.

Duo watched patiently and grinned when Heero's eyes would turn to his for a moment before he moved on. His eyes grew used to the dark quickly and he watched Heero's form walking around the room before he came to sit next to him.

Duo, already knowing he had Heero's permission, advanced on him. Heero couldn't believe this was really happening as Duo overtook him. He expected to wake up any minute, panting and aroused.

But he didn't. And he was happy to finally be with Duo, taking their relationship farther than ever before. 


	20. Broken Bliss

Rewriting still. 

Warnings: Yaoi.

Duo?  
Chapter 20: Broken Bliss

Duo awoke and looked down at the boy sleeping soundly on his bare chest. He smiled and kissed the mess of chocolate brown hair softly. He didn't want to disrupt his love's sleep, so he turned his head in his pillow and thought back to the first time Heero realized that Duo slept in his bed...

:Flashback:

Duo curled up under the covers when the lights went out. A few moments later, he heard Heero, "Duo..." he said in a threatening tone. Duo bit his lip to keep from laughing. He turned and peeked out from under the blankets up at Heero, hoping to look too cute to turn down.

He blinked when Heero's mood didn't falter. "I don't have a bed," he said with a pout. Heero's eyebrows raised and Duo immediately defended himself, "Hey, ghosts need to sleep too!"

"You didn't sleep here last night," Heero assumed.

Duo grinned inwardly. He made his response casual as to irritate Heero, "Yes I did."

Heero's eyes narrowed menacingly. "You _did_!"

:End of Flashback:

Duo opened his eyes and smiled fondly as Heero stirred quietly. He made a muffled noise. 'Aw! He's talking in his sleep!' Duo thought and listened closely.

"Hold... me...," Heero mumbled. He sighed. "Don't... let... go..." he said as he tightened his hold around Duo's bare middle. Duo smiled and shook his head.

"I'll never let you go," he whispered.

Heero sighed deeply and fell silent again. A moment later he awoke and didn't seem to remember where he was or why he was lying with Duo like this. His eyes snapped open and he pushed himself up off of Duo's chest and glanced quickly around the room, then back down to Duo. Duo quirked an eyebrow at him and gave him a strange look that hinted that he thought Heero was crazy.

Heero rolled off of Duo and onto his back next to him. He put one hand on his forehead and seemed troubled. Duo shifted to his side and putting his elbow on his pillow, rested his head on his hand. He smiled at Heero and chuckled.

Heero turned his head toward Duo but didn't move his hand. "How..." he started. Duo raised his eyebrows expectantly. "How did that happen?" he finished quietly. "I mean... I know that you can be felt when you want someone to be able to feel you... But..." He shook his head and brought his hand down. He stared at the ceiling. "Duo?"

Duo had lain back down on his back. "Hm?"

"What will you do once I move out? I mean... I'll come back, and my parents aren't going to move out or anything, but as I grow older, what will you do?" Heero asked without looking back at Duo.

Duo tilted his head. "I don't know... Just stay here and wait for you, I guess." Heero nodded slowly.

"I wonder if I'll be able to come back here when I die..." Heero said quietly. Duo looked at him in surprise.

"Heero, I'd worry about that when the time comes for it," Duo told him in a strangely stern tone.

Heero still looked worried, but nodded.

Duo bit his lip. He didn't know how to respond to that... He didn't know what was going to happen. He sighed. "Please don't worry too much, Heero... You shouldn't be thinking about death or anything remotely related to it at your age."

Heero looked at Duo sharply. "I'm the same age as you," he pointed out.

Duo shook his head. "You won't be. I've stopped aging, I haven't grown a day older for what... three or four months now. You are already passing my age at this point." Duo stopped for a moment. "When is your birthday, anyway?" he asked.

Heero sighed. "I'll be 17 on the 29th of January."

Duo nodded and leaned toward Heero and kissed him lightly on his cheek before suddenly having clothes on and getting out of bed. He grinned and left the room.

Heero also got up and dressed, and found Duo right outside the door braiding his hair. He looked up and smiled. Heero smiled back and went downstairs with Duo close behind.

He looked around the house for a while before going back upstairs. Duo followed without saying a word. Heero was about to walk into the bathroom when he stopped and turned around. "Duo... Why are you following me? You're like a big puppy," he said playfully.

Duo shrugged. "I dunno." He grinned.

Heero quirked an eyebrow and sighed. "I'm going to take a shower, and _you_ are going to stay out."

Duo pouted and walked slowly down the hall. Heero glared after him. Once he got to the stairs, Duo happily sat on the railing and slid down out of sight. Heero shook his head and closed the door.

Duo heard the shower turn on and chuckled to himself. He wondered what to do while Heero was busy. He'd already finished most of the interesting books in the house, and he couldn't go upstairs because Heero would sense him and think he was in the bathroom.

He sighed and wandered around the house until Heero was done. He did finish very quickly and Duo remembered how long it used to take him to shower because of his long hair. He smiled to himself and as he got to the bottom of the stairs he looked up at Heero who was standing at the top with his boxers on and a white towel around his neck.

"What're you doing?" he asked and motioned for Duo to come with him.

"Nothing," Duo answered in a very aloof tone. He followed Heero to their room and fondly stroked the petals of Heero's roses whilst he dressed.

Heero sighed and hung the towel in the bathroom and walked downstairs, Duo always following. "When's your birthday?" Heero asked as they went into the living room.

"December 10th," he answered quietly.

Heero nodded and the silence between them grew, although neither noticed because they were each deep in thought.

They jumped when the doorbell rang and Heero sighed and went to open it. Quatre greeted him cheerily, "Hello, Heero! How are you feeling?"

Heero smiled. "I'm doing ok," he answered and Duo came up behind him.

"Hey guys!" He flashed a grin and put a hand on Heero's shoulder. "Of course he's ok, I took care of him!" he said happily.

Quatre chuckled and latched himself onto Trowa's arm. "We thought we'd come by to see if you wanted some company after being inside all this time?"

Heero nodded. "Yes, of course, come in," he said gratefully. It was incredibly boring and lonely without anyone there to talk to other than Duo.

Quatre nearly dragged Trowa into the house because he walked so much faster than Trowa and he wouldn't let go of his arm. "Hey Heero, do you know what school you're going to?" he asked as they moved into the living room and sat down.

Heero shook his head. "Nope, I haven't even really thought about it... When does school start here, anyway?"

"In a couple of weeks."

"I think I remember my parents telling me something about a high school... I can't remember the name, but I think it started with an 'H'," Heero said thoughtfully.

Quatre smiled. "Could it possibly have been Harrelson?"

Heero nodded. "That's it, Harrelson. My parents told me about that before we moved here, maybe I'm already enrolled."

Duo looked down sadly while Quatre started telling Heero about Harrelson High. He didn't want Heero to go to school, he wanted him to stay home. He looked up at the conversation taking place before him and it was plain that Heero was excited about starting school again.

Duo's eyes fell on Trowa who had been silently watching him. He gave Duo a strange look that told him to be happy for Heero. Duo blinked and wondered how he figured that out. He looked at Heero then back to Trowa, but he was once again listening to Quatre and Heero talking.

xxx

After talking through the afternoon, Quatre and Trowa left. Duo wondered if he should bring up his opinions on Heero going to school.

Heero sat back down on the couch next to Duo. "What do you think about Harrelson?" he asked almost uneasily.

'I wonder if he really wants to go...' Duo thought. "Well, I don't know... I think it's great, although I'd much rather you stay here with me." He grinned playfully.

Heero smiled back, but it faded as he looked down. "I don't really want to go, I'd rather stay here too. But I can't just stop going..."

"Well, you could..." Duo grinned. "But it wouldn't be a good idea. Thinking about college and all that good stuff."

Heero chuckled. "Yeah, I'll be gone five days a week, six to seven hours a day... But I know I'll be back at the end of the day," he pointed out. Duo nodded. "If you want me to, I can get you more things to do, like books to read," he offered. "I know you'll be bored."

Duo nodded again. "Sure, that'd be great." He bowed his head as Heero took Quatre and Trowa's glasses into the kitchen.

True happiness never stayed long for him; once he found a little it was taken from him. This was no different. What he'd found was being taken from him. He wasn't going to keep Heero awake at night just to be with him because of school, and he'd be busy with homework anyway. Heero would barely have time for Duo.

He sighed sadly. Just like always, it was being taken from him, his happiness... His Heero.


	21. School Days

Rewriting.

Warnings: Yaoi

Duo?  
Chapter 21: School Days

During the next few weeks, Heero seemed to be avoiding all physical contact with Duo as possible, with the exception of nights when Duo would pull him into the safety of his arms. Duo didn't notice this at first, but after about three days, Duo realized that Heero was avoiding him and became suspicious.

Heero was also going out more often and he sometimes came back with various school supplies.

xxx

"Duo, Quatre told me that school is to start for us in two days..." Heero started nervously as he paced in front of Duo who sat comfortably in the desk chair. He nodded slowly so Heero continued, "I'm really nervous about it already. But I never get nervous about anything, I don't know why this would be different." He sat down on the bed and looked up at Duo. "Did you go to Harrelson?"

Duo nodded. "Yeah, it's a good school," he said with a smile. "I'm sure you'll fit in right away. It's almost like a gifted and talented school, just with wider boundaries, they don't expect that much from their students, but they're almost always above average."

Heero's eyes widened in surprise. "Were you above average?"

Duo laughed bitterly. "Most are surprised when I inform them that I am." He arched his eyebrows. "I am very underestimated by my peers and teachers." He grinned. "Even my..." His voice and grin faltered. He looked down as his eyes clouded. "My parents... were surprised," he finished quietly.

Heero sighed sympathetically and got up to sit on the arm of Duo's chair. He wrapped his arms around Duo. "I'm sorry, Duo," he whispered.

Duo was confused at first that Heero had willingly touched him, but that was quickly washed away and replaced with gratitude. "Thanks, but I'm ok." He sighed.

Heero pulled away. "You sure?" Duo smiled up at him and nodded. Heero half smiled back. Duo then reached up and took Heero's waist and pulled him into his lap. Heero smiled. "You think I won't have time for you once I get into school, don't you?" he asked.

Duo blinked. He hesitated before answering, "Yes, I do..."

Heero kissed Duo's neck softly. "I'll make time, Duo."

Duo shivered as a chill ran up his spine when Heero had kissed him. He sighed. "Let's get to bed, you've got to get into a normal sleeping pattern, not staying up til 12 and getting up at 10." He grinned as Heero rose from his lap.

He glanced at the clock. "It's only 10:45..."

Duo nodded and also got up. "I know, that's good, you need more sleep if you're going to go to school." He wrapped his arms around Heero in a quick hug before turning off the light. Heero quickly dressed for bed and climbed in next to Duo.

As always, Duo pulled him close and told him goodnight before he promptly fell asleep.

xxx

Heero rubbed his eyes and glanced at the softly beeping clock. '5:00... Why am I up so early?' he asked himself as he turned the alarm off. He whapped his forehead. 'Duh, school...' He shook his head and looked around for Duo. Not finding him, he went ahead and got ready.

When he got downstairs, it was ten minutes before six. Duo was in the kitchen rummaging through Heero's backpack. Heero tilted his head in confusion. "What're you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing..." Duo said distractedly as he zipped up Heero's backpack.

Heero rolled his eyes and walked toward him. He smiled and kissed him. "I'll see you later," he said and picked up his backpack.

Duo nodded and smiled as he walked out the front door. He sighed when he saw Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Sally waiting for Heero outside the door. He walked slowly upstairs again and went back to sleep, although it was difficult without Heero.

'How pathetic am I?' he asked himself and he sighed. 'I can't even sleep well without him...'

With these sorts of thoughts swimming in his head, he finally fell into an uneasy doze.

xxx

Duo heard the front door being unlocked and raced downstairs. He'd been playing on Heero's laptop for most of the day as he waited for Heero to return.

Heero greeted him with a grin. "Hi, Duo."

"Hey!" Duo said happily. "Did you like Harrelson?" he asked.

Heero dropped his backpack behind the couch. "It was great! I really like it, but without the help of Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei, I never would've found my way around. It's huge!" He smiled and sighed.

Duo chuckled. "I'm glad you like it there."

"But I guess I don't really have to tell you about it, since you went there." Heero grinned.

Duo nodded. "True, true. But you can tell me about it anyway, I don't really mind. It has been a while since I've been there, after all," he pointed out.

Heero blinked. "Heh... You're right. I was actually asked a lot about this house and if it was true I was living with a ghost." He grinned.

"What did you tell them?" Duo asked curiously when Heero stopped.

"I told them yes..." He thought for a moment, but said nothing more.

Duo bit his lip and glanced away. Heero smiled at him and wrapped his arms around his waist. "I missed you," he murmured.

Duo smiled back and kissed him lightly. "I missed you, too."

xxx

Duo glanced at the clock and smiled. 2:30 means Heero should walk in any minute now. Duo patiently waited for about ten minutes when he decided it would be ok to get suspicious. Heero was very good about coming home by at most, 2:35 because school ended at 2:20 and it only took him five to ten minutes to get home, depending on whether he stopped to talk to friends or teachers or something.

But today, Heero didn't come home. 


	22. Everlasting Love

Rewriting. 

Warnings: Yaoi, Italics indicate time passing or a flashback.

Duo?  
Chapter 22: Everlasting Love

Duo flinched as the clock rang four o'clock. Feeling unbearably useless, he curled up on the couch and eventually fell into a troubled doze.

Meanwhile, Heero's father was being called at his office...

Mr. Yuy shuffled through some papers on his desk as his secretary appeared in his doorway. She was flushed and her lower lip was trembling. He looked up at her and tilted his head in confusion. "Is something wrong, Yume?" he asked worriedly, setting down his papers.

She swallowed hard and drew a shaky breath. "Mr. Yuy, He-Heero is in th-the hospital..." She knew the boy and was quite fond of him.

Mr. Yuy stood up abruptly and demanded, "What!"

Yume took a small step backwards. "They said he was in a car crash... A semi hit his bus," she replied hurriedly.

Mr. Yuy's eyes widened and he ran out of his office. "Take care of things, will you Yume?" he called but didn't look back. She nodded to herself and walked slowly into his abandoned office.

He arrived at the hospital in record time and flew threw the entrance. Panting, he blurted Heero's name and his relationship to the said boy and she took him to see his son.

When he got into the room where Heero lay, his wife was already there, sitting in a chair next to Heero's bed. She looked up at her husband. He swiftly walked to her chair and knelt next to her. He then looked toward the bed.

A very beaten looking Heero lay there, seemingly asleep. The doctor came into the doorway and watched as Heero's father spoke softly to his wife.

"There's really no need to whisper." He sighed sadly and closed the door. "He's in a coma... He can't wake up if you speak at normal volume." He looked down.

The doctor had a very kind and wise appearance. His hair was grey and he was bald on the top of his head. He had a short, bushy moustache and a goatee. He extended his hand to Heero's father. "I'm Dr. Howard," he said.

Mr. Yuy took the offered hand and then looked down at his son with a solemn expression. He swallowed hard. "So... So Heero was in a car crash?" he asked Dr. Howard, not looking up.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, he was. It seems a semi collided with his bus... He was one of the unlucky victims who was injured this seriously. There were none who died, but seven others are in here still," he said, looking around the room to indicate he was referring to the hospital. Mr. Yuy nodded.

After a moment of silence, Dr. Howard picked up a clipboard that hung on the end of Heero's bed. He flipped a page and scanned the next. "Mr. and Mrs. Yuy," he began. They both looked up. "When Heero came in, we took a blood sample... It was all rather odd, you see, inside Heero's blood, there seems to be something else. Not harmful, mind you," he added after seeing the couple's eyes widen in unison. They relaxed a bit.

"Then what is it?" asked Mrs. Yuy after a moment's hesitation from the doctor.

He sighed and his brows knitted together. "It seems that Heero's blood is... Well, it's difficult to explain..." His voice trailed off. "Well, here, we need another sample anyway." He walked to Heero where an IV protruded from his arm. He took a tube of some sort and inserted into a socket on the needle.

Heero's parents watched as he did something else and the bottle filled with Heero's blood. Dr. Howard took the full tube out and held it up for Heero's parents to see. Confused expressions crossed their faces immediately. Heero's blood was a kind of purple-red color.

"I'm going to take this into one of our laboratories where one of our better scientists is... I guess you could say he is exploring Heero's blood as we speak." He paused. "I could have him come here and explain what is happening here." He motioned to the small tube in his hand.

The couple nodded.

"All right, then I'll send him in," Dr. Howard said and departed.

About five minutes later, another elderly man came into the room. He had small, round glasses and long grey hair. He also had a goatee and a longer moustache than Dr. Howard. He nodded to the couple. He seemed to take on the appearance of a mad scientist...

"Mr. and Mrs. Yuy I presume?" They nodded. "I'm Dr. J, I take it you wish to know what is happening with Heero." He brought his hands from behind his back and looked at a clipboard. He took off the top paper and handed it to them. "This is a very accurate sketch of what I found in Heero's blood, or rather, attached to Heero's red blood cells."

They looked at the paper which had a very precise sketch of some unknown thing latched onto what appeared to be a red blood cell. "But what is it?" Mr. Yuy asked.

"It's very strange... I'd have to get back to you on that. I haven't gotten enough information on it to tell you exactly what it is and what it does." Mr. Yuy handed him the paper again. "I will let you know when I find out." He nodded formally to them and left the room.

For a while, the Yuys were left alone, sitting next to their son.

xxx

Duo groaned and sat up. It was already 8 o'clock. He covered his face with his hands. "Heero... Where are you?" He sighed heavily and walked slowly up the stairs and into their room.

xxx

_A few days later..._

xxx

Dr. J peered into Heero's room before stepping inside. He cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Yuy?" They looked up. "I've figured out what this thing in Heero's blood does. It seems that this purple something that has latched itself to Heero's red blood cells is preventing him from aging."

Mrs. Yuy's eyes widened. "How is that possible?"

Dr. J shook his head. "I'm not sure..." he admitted.

Mr. Yuy stood up. "Is he still going to die if he never comes out of this?" he demanded.

Dr. J nodded. "Yes, he will appear to be 16, but he will continue to age and will eventually die."

The couple looked down at their son sadly. "I suppose we should get home..." Mr. Yuy said to his wife. She nodded.

xxx

When they got home Duo was nowhere to be found. Nothing unusual as of the past few days. Mrs. Yuy called for him repeatedly and searched most of the rooms on the top two floors for the specter, but to no avail. She sighed and gave up.

"I wonder why he's taking this so hard?" she wondered aloud.

Her husband shook his head. "I'm not sure... Maybe if you tell him that we know what's happening with Heero, he'll come out."

Duo peered inside their bedroom where they were talking and listened closely.

Mr. Yuy continued, "He has no way of knowing what happened to Heero, and therefore doesn't realize that he's in a coma with that weird virus thing." He shuddered. "It looks awful... I wonder what it really is."

Duo's eyes widened. He swallowed hard and stepped into the room, making himself visible as he was doing so. The couple looked up at him and Mrs. Yuy stood up. "Duo? Are you alright?"

Duo stared at her blankly. "Heero's in a coma?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "There is also something in his blood that is keeping him from physically aging," she told him.

He looked down. "How did he end up in a coma?"

"He was in a car crash... A semi hit his bus on the way home from school," she said.

Duo nodded sadly. "He can't come home then?" he whispered.

She shook her head. "No... he can't."

Duo closed his eyes and tears started streaming slowly down his cheeks as he turned and walked out of the room. The two left in the room decided not to go after him, they figured he'd come out when he felt better.

But he never did...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_And so the years passed..._

_Heero stayed physically young, and Duo never appeared in front of the Yuys again. Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Sally were grown and gone before too long._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Eventually, Heero's parents passed away, and the house was empty for years to come._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_Duo spent all those long, painful years roaming the house aimlessly or staying in some room on one of the lower floors. A few months after he had found out about Heero, Duo had decided that crying didn't do him any good whatsoever. So from then on, he hadn't cried, spoken, or slept._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Heero opened his eyes and blinked once. Twice. He sat up and looked around him. Everything was so white... 'Where am I?' he thought. He swung his legs off of the bed and onto the cold, tiled floor. He looked at all the machines next to the bed and tilted his head. He then looked at his arms. None of the tubes were even attached to him.

He shrugged and saw no harm in leaving the room if there was nothing breakable attached to him, so he got up. He walked to the door and turned back.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was looking at himself! He swallowed hard and walked slowly back to the bed. The machines next to the bed startled him when they began beeping and ringing loudly.

He leaped backwards, away from the bed and two male doctors rushed into the room. He watched them as one quieted the machines and the other examined the Heero on the bed. They spoke quietly to each other and departed.

Heero hesitated before approaching the bed again. He jumped back again as the body aged... He watched in fascination until it stopped and the body looked like an elderly man who had died of old age.

He shook his head slowly and turned back to the door. He went out into the hallway and looked down both ways. There were a few people scattered both ways and he exited the room.

But he stopped. And remembered...

_He saw himself walking through a crowded hallway at a place he recognized as his high school. His form blurred, followed by his surroundings and he saw himself boarding his bus._

_The scene blurred again and another appeared. He was sitting on the bus, looking out the window, his forehead pressed against the glass and looking weary. For the third time, the scene blurred and another took its place._

_The crushed bus and semi was all Heero needed to remember everything that had happened that day. He saw people starting to swarm around the two vehicles and a few small shrieks reached his ears. He could see his body, along with many others still inside the wrecked bus._

_Some of the trapped, but conscious students in the bus were crying or screaming at the sight of their unconscious peers and finding themselves unable to escape the metal form that surrounded them._

_Policemen, ambulances, and firetrucks arrived then. The crowd scattered to allow them through to the accident._

Heero shook his head to clear the image and found himself in the hallway of the hospital again. He felt a jolt in his stomach when he remembered about Duo. He wondered how long it had been since he'd last seen Duo and how Duo had handled knowing that he didn't come home.

He then wondered if he was able to leave the hospital or if he was confined there like Duo was to his house. He then searched for a staircase that might lead out of the building.

He didn't have to look far and did find a door leading outside. He squinted into the sunlight and sighed. He looked around at the street and address of the hospital and sprinted in the direction of home. He felt wonderful, he felt so light and happy... Happy that he was on his way to see his love.

It didn't take him too long to get back, and he was grinning immensely as he went up the walk to the door. He experimentally pressed his palm on the door and told himself that he wanted to go through it. His hand immediately crossed through to the other side.

He then raced through the door and up the stairs. He glanced around and sighed, thinking of his past days in this house. He went into his and Duo's old room and looked around.

The grin on his face slipped slowly away and his eyes widened. There, left on the desk long ago, was a vase containing three svelte roses standing proudly. Hardly a speck of dust had dared to disturb their beauty. They seemed to glow in the lackluster room.

Heero extended his hand and brushed a single purple petal. He spun around and raced from the room and into the hall. He stopped at the top of the stairs. "Duo?" he called softly. He waited a moment before calling again, louder this time.

He waited for the echo to die down before he listened hard. There was no sign of Duo. He called a third time, even louder.

xxx

Duo clapped his hands over his ears as he sat in one of the basement rooms. 'Stop...' he begged silently. 'Stop torturing me... Heero doesn't exist... He's gone.'

xxx

Heero listened again and ran down the stairs. He looked around, calling Duo's name softly in each room. He went through the door by the stairs and searched the downstairs rooms.

xxx

Duo listened to the gentle, steady tapping of someone walking around above him. He sighed and tugged at his hair that had been let down from its braid. He rose from the floor and walked out of the room.

xxx

Heero quickened his steps after what seemed like the millionth room he'd checked to find Duo. Soon he was running through the hallways, calling Duo's name and glancing into rooms he passed. He skidded to a stop and took a sharp left down another hallway.

About to round another corner, Heero collided with something. He landed on his back staring at the ceiling with a bewildered expression. He blinked and slowly sat up. He crawled to the corner and peered around it to see what he had crashed into.

There sat Duo, rubbing his head and looking very unkempt. Heero's face lit up in a smile and he stumbled to his feet. "Duo!" he cried as he plowed into the stunned boy.

Duo managed to prop himself and his extra load onto his elbows. "Heero?" he said as he gazed at the boy clinging to his shirt and crying into his shoulder.

"Duo... How long has it been since we last saw each other? I don't remember anything..." Heero asked, not looking up.

Duo shook his head. "I don't know... I lost track of time. But of course you wouldn't remember anything, you were comatose." He smiled gently.

Heero nodded. "Yeah, I saw everything after I died... It was like I was reliving it, but I could see everything that happened that day... Even after the bus was hit."

Duo nodded.

Heero pushed himself up off of Duo and sat down next to him. He still had tears streaming down his face as Duo sat up also. Duo stood and offered his hands to Heero. Heero smiled and took them.

Duo and Heero left the basement and went upstairs together. When they reached their old room, Heero pointed to the roses that had stayed so beautiful for so long. Duo smiled and put his arms around Heero lovingly and the couple watched out the window until night fell.


	23. Oscar

Mm'kay, this is the story Oscar, from Haunted Heartland! ^_^ Good story... Please excuse any spelling errors... I don't want to go back and read it when I'm done.   
  
Oscar  
  
The kids in Oscar's Evansville neighborhood knew him as a friendly, outgoing nineteen-year-old who took delight in giving them rides in his shiny new car, circa 1922. They would pile in, eager to careen over the dusty roads around the city. Late in the evening Oscar would brin them back to his house, and calling goodnight, they would scatter to their own respective dwellings.  
  
The routine didn't vary on that one evening in the early 1920s when everyone waved as Oscar went into his house. They never saw him again. His parents found him dead in bed the next morning. The cause of death is not known.  
  
Oscar's ghost may still linger in Evansville, attached now to a family that moved into Oscar's old home years after his death. At least that's what Warren and Gladys Reynolds think. They have been the targets of Oscar's friendly antics for over forty years, if that is indeed the explanation for all the strange occurrences the Reynolds have witnessed.  
  
The house where Oscar lived and died and where the Reynolds first met his spirit is gone now. The lot is occupied by part of the Doctor's Plaza, a medical clinic. But back in 1942, Gladys and Warren Reynolds, a young married couple, lived there.  
  
"At first I thought they were ordinary noises," soft-spoken Gladys Reynolds remembers. "But my husband thought from the beginning that something peculiar was going on. He always seemed to have the most experiences. I worked during the days, and he was on the night shift as a deputy sheriff. Oscar seemed to be around more during the day when my husband was at home."  
  
The Reynolds's first indication that Oscar was still in "his" house came during a thunderstorm. The family was in a downstairs room. Footsteps suddenly pouded across an upstairs hallway. What followed sounded like windows being shut in the bedrooms. Sure enough, when the family checked upstairs, each window that had been open was now firmly closed against the brewing storm.  
  
On another day, the couple's twelve-year-old daughter was home alone finishing some homework in the dining room. She heard someone coming down the staircase. The little girl was so frightened she hid under the big round table. The descending footsteps stopped abruptly on the last step. Peering out, the child could see she was quite alone.  
  
Oscar was very shy. On only two occasions did he allow himself to be glimpsed. The witness in both cases was Warren Reynolds's mother. She lived with her son and daughter-in-law for several years before her death.  
  
The senior Mrs. Reynolds occupied the same bedroom in which Oscar was reputed to have died. The first time she saw Oscar was quite late at night, when a sharp sound forced her awake. She looked around the room. There was Oscar standing with his back to her, bending over a grate in the fireplace. Hoping the specter would disappear, the old woman pulled the blankets over her head. A few moments later she peeked out. The shadowy stranger was still there. Oscar finally melted into the darkness.  
  
Oscar's second visit to his old bedroom was quite a bit shorter, and again at night. He was standing quite still next to a potted plant, with his back toward Mrs. Reynolds, who had again been awakened from a sound sleep. And as before, after a few seconds, he seemed to melt away.  
  
Oscar frequented his bedroom often. He seemed to prefer the cane-bottomed rocker, for the family would hear its familiar creaking back and forth for minutes on end. Each time they investigated, however, the chair was absolutely still and no one was in the room.  
  
Gladys Reynolds recalled that Oscar also liked to prowl about the partially-finished attic. "My husband heard someone up there one afternoon. He thought some kids had broken in through the window. Well, since he was a deputy sheriff he took out his revolver and headed up the stairs. But when he got there, he couldn't find anything. All the windows were locked and nothing had been disturbed. From what he heard, he was convinced someone had been walking around up there."  
  
An incident in 1948 involved a woman friend of Mrs. Reynolds who came to visit for several days. Late the first evening, after her friend had retired, Mrs. Reynolds heard drawers opening and closing upstairs, footsteps moving across the floorboards and doors slamming. Surprised at the activity, she thought perhaps her friend was preparing to leave early in the morning. That notion was dispelled at breakfast when her friend assured her she was indeed staying and had slept soundly through the night. She emphatically denied being the source of the nocturnal activity.   
  
The Reynolds family moved out of Oscar's house in 1965. It was subsequently torn down to make way for the medical facility.   
  
Oscar, however, may have been so taken with the Reynolds family that he moved with them into their next home! Sometimes they hear faint footsteps or the creaking of the rocking chair Oscar fancied.  
  
In the new house, Gladys Reynolds says there have been two occasions when objects have mysteriously disappeared, only to be found later in places the family had thoroughly searched.  
  
"When I couldn't find my make-up compact in its usual drawer," Gladys Reynolds says, "I thought my granddaughter had taken it to play with. I didn't want to say anything to my daughter; I didn't want her to spank the child. I looked everywhere and after a few days I just gave up. My daughter and her family left and I still couldn't find the compact. Well, one day I opened a cabinet and there it was right in front of my eyes. I had looked there and would certainly have seen it if it had been there earlier."  
  
Mrs. Reynolds attributes such incidents to pranks pulled by Oscar. After forty years of his antics, the Reynolds treat him like one of the family. They don't fear him and, indeed, respond to his now infrequent visits with a matter-of-factness characteristic of people who have accepted what is sometimes so hard for others to believe.  
  
"I never did believe in ghosts either," Mrs. Reynolds emphasizes with a laugh. "But I know what I heard, what my husband believes, and what my mother-in-law saw. I can't explain it, but all those things did happen."  
  
Do they want Oscar to reveal his presence more often? Mrs. Reynolds thinks probably not. "We always have the *feeling* Oscar is in the house," she affirms. And that seems to be enough for the Reynolds family and their old friend.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Yay! There's Oscar... BTW, I don't own Oscar, I just own the book.   
  
*grins* It's Halloween and I'm kinda in my costume right now... I have a hoof print on my face... But that's it because my costume involves mud, and my mother would kill me if I got mud all over the house. But I bet the hoof print looks funny ^__^ I couldn't think of anything for a costume, but my mom wouldn't let me stay home, so I had to come up with something within the week. I made my costume last night and I have a white pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and I took one of my vaulting horse's old shoes and dipped it in mud and put it on my clothes. So now I'm just someone who - as people at school said - got hit by a horse. lol! Ok, I'm done ranting now...   
  
Oh, and keep checking to see what the sequel is called, cuz I'm gonna put it here. I'll let all of those I've been emailing when I update like that, so you guys don't have to worry about it.  
  
JFN! 


End file.
